Social Norms in an Academic Environment: Pathway to Change

1. Social Norms in an Academic Environment: Pathway to Change ASEE Chemical Engineering Summer School Tom Spicer, PhD, PE Ralph E. Martin Leadership Chair in Chemical Engineering Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering University of Arkansas July 2012

2. Norms: Pathway to (Positive) Change What are social norms? Creating and strengthening social norms through “small wins” Case history (a.k.a. story or narrative) of focus on safety improving quality and productivity at a corporate level

3. What are social norms? • Social standards describing and prescribing behavior • Descriptive/Prescriptive • Descriptive: how pervasive is a behavior? • Prescriptive: how someone ought/ought not perform or behave (often internalized) • Global/Situational • Global: norms that cross boundaries • Situational: norms limited to situations (being quiet in a library) – when in a new situation, people will tend to use the actions of others to decide how to act for themselves

4. What are social norms? (2) • Prescriptive norms: • An individual’s guide to personal behavior • Characterized by informal sanctioning systems • Not everyone follows the guidance (Subjective norms): • Respected influences will have a larger impact (e.g. best friend compared with neighbor’s impact on a teenager). • Degree to which guidance/compliance is followed may depend on cultural background. • Formal Prescriptive Norms: Laws and Regulations

5. What are social norms? (3) Personal (internalized) norms will tend to be followed even when informal and formal sanctions cannot be enforced. (Goal of safety awareness!) Norms do not cause behavior, but can guide behavior. Focus theory on normative conduct: norms will influence behavior when an individual’s attention is activated (situational cue is needed) – even good training is thwarted by someone not paying attention

6. What are social norms? (4) “Powerful others” (faculty advisor) can provide guidance on required standards dictated by norms. The influence of standards dictated by norms can be thwarted by the mere fact that a majority of other people (or the “powerful other”) behave in a particular manner. “Do as I do, not as I say.” Local clusters of individuals who share a minority opinion rarely dissolve. Fairness norms: individuals need to feel the benefits of belonging to a group (and accepting the required standards) outweigh the personal costs (satisfying “because”). Violating this basic fairness may compromise acceptance of standards.

7. Magic of “because…” • Cialdini (1993) reports study of Langer based on copy machine: • “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the copy machine because I am in a rush?” 94% success rate. • “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the copy machine?” 60% success rate. • “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the copy machine because I have to make some copies?” 93% success rate.

8. “Small Wins” -- Agent of Change (1) Mark Muraven (University of Albany): Undergraduates in a room with fresh, warm cookies. • Half of group: “We ask you to please don’t eat the cookies. Is that okay?” (sense of control) • Other half of group: “You must not eat the cookies.” • After 5 minutes alone with the cookies, none were eaten, but: • “Sense of control” group able to maintain attention to a boring, unconnected task much more than the other group.

9. “Small Wins” – Agent of Change (2) Oaten and Cheng (Australia): what overflow effects come from “small wins”? Two months of increased physical exercise – people forced themselves to exercise more frequently Previously self-professed couch potatoes decreased smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol and caffeine, and eating less junk food. Same “small win” overflow when (1) people were signed up for a money management program and (2) students were enrolled in an academic enrichment program to improve study skills. “Small wins” create improved individual will power.

10. Conclusion “When people are asked to do something that takes self-control, if they think they are doing it for personal reasons – if they feel like it’s a choice or something they enjoy because it helps someone else – it’s much less taxing. If they feel like they have no autonomy, if they’re just following orders, their willpower muscles get tired much faster.” (Duhigg, Ch 5) Giving people a sense of agency (genuine decision making authority) can radically refocus energy and bring self-discipline to the task at hand.

11. “Small Wins” – Corporate Impact ALCOA change of management in 1987: Paul O’Neill Initial press conference: new emphasis on worker safety! Profits and other buzzwords missing at the initial press conference. The message was rejected by investors and the stock tanked. O’Neill’s focus on safety was a mechanism to refocus the attention of all employees on important issues.

12. ALCOA’s story New focus on safety: Cut across all groups in the company (in an academic setting, all faculty, post-docs, grad students, and undergrads) to say that “Everyone deserves to work in a safe environment.” Previous efforts to change had met entrenched positions – and previous efforts had failed. Communication between constituents was critical to the success of safety, so the new emphasis improved communication.

13. Conclusions Understanding and using social norms provides a pathway to change for individuals and groups. The position of the local majority is important. For participants, a clear understanding of a meaningful answer to “Why?” is critical. Everyone deserves to work in a safe setting. Having a sense of control keeps participants engaged; the opposite steals cognitive and emotional resources on an individual and group basis. If people commit (oral or written) to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment because this act establishes a self-image which is later honored (to avoid cognitive dissonance).

14. Sources David A Schroeder, “Norms”, Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Arkansas, personal communication. Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit, Random House, 2012 (particularly chapters 4 and 5). Robert Cialdini, Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion, Quill, 1993. R.B. Cialdini and N.J. Goldstein, “Social Influence: Compliance and Conformity,” Annu. Rev. Psychol., 2004:55:591-621 N.J. Goldstein, S.J. Martin, and R.B. Cialdini, Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive, Simon and Shuster, 2008.