CAN THE SOCIAL NORMS APPROACH BE USED AS A HAZING PREVENTION STRATEGY?

Transcription

1 CAN THE SOCIAL NORMS APPROACH BE USED AS A HAZING PREVENTION STRATEGY? A StopHazing Webinar November 4, 2014 Alan D. Berkowitz

2 OVERVIEW Challenges of Hazing Prevention Social Norms Introduction Possible Application A Case Study Next Steps? Discussion

3 WHO DO WE FOCUS ON? Incoming members? Current active members? Graduates? Other bystanders (advisors, friends, etc.)? All of the above?

4 ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT HAZING Some or most are uncomfortable, to at least some extent, with hazing behaviors This discomfort is hidden, i.e. individuals are not aware of others discomfort Hazing, or at least its extremes, is propelled by a minority who think that they represent and speak for the majority By revealing hidden healthy norms, we can tip the scale in favor of increased bystander intervention and reduced abuse

5 CHALLENGES TO ADDRESSING HAZING It is a secret behavior Is justified by tradition Is seen as having benefits It feeds on group belonging needs and fear of rejection It empowers a minority to engage in extreme behavior The barriers to addressing hazing are unusually high especially to interventions from the outside Is there a solution that can come from within the group?

6 The Social Norms Approach

7 WHAT IS A NORM? Social norms refer to the acceptability of an action or belief Are unspoken rules about what is normal for that group or setting Perceptions of social norms predict what people will say and do Norms exist for individuals, groups and communities

8 EXAMPLES OF NORMS Frequency and sexual activity Attitude towards hooking up Willingness to intervene Tolerance of high-risk behavior Support for policies and enforcement How individuals feel about specific hazing behaviors

9 CORRECTING MISPERCEIVED NORMS People over-estimate risk behaviors and underestimate protective behaviors* Misperceived norms exert powerful (and unconscious) effects on behavior

10 WHAT BELIEFS UNDERLIE MISPERCEPTIONS? Pluralistic Ignorance: the incorrect belief that one s private attitudes, judgements, or behavior are different from others. False Consensus: the incorrect belief that one represents the majority when one is actually a minority.

11 MISPERCEPTIONS ARE PERVASIVE AND INFLUENTIAL Documented overestimations include: Sexual activity and number of partners Alcohol use Comfort with hooking up Frequency of coercive sex and other violent behaviors Belief in rape myths and other justifications for violence Documented underestimations include: Willingness to intervene and confront abuse Support for policies and enforcement Respect for individuals who intervene

12 OTHER MISPERCEPTIONS Documented overestimations include: Gambling Anti-immigrant sentiment Homophobia among heterosexuals Bullying and sexting Documented underestimations include: Support and practice of green behaviors Spirituality and religiosity

13 MISPERCEPTIONS & BYSTANDER BEHAVIOR Individuals are bothered by problem behaviors but underestimate others discomfort with them and their desire to have someone intervene Men underestimate other men s respect for someone who intervenes Intervention is more likely when others are perceived as willing to intervene Problem individuals use the misperceptions to justify their behavior Misperceptions are one of the critical barriers to intervention, fostering inaction and justifying abuse

14 FAKE CONSENSUS NORMS Individuals who engage in problem attitudes and behavior overestimate other s support for their attitudes and actions, i.e. Perpetrators of domestic violence Men who sexually assault Problem drinkers Gamblers Hazing ring-leaders People who engage in high-risk other behaviors Perpetrator overestimations predict problem behavior. A false consensus norm constitutes a self-serving bias

15 QUESTIONS Do misperceptions about hazing exist within the Greek community and specifically among members of individual chapters (as well as in other organizations)?! If identified, could correction of these misperceptions function to normalize health and protective behaviors and undermine hazing?

16 MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS AND SEXTING 47% of students said that most students would forward a sext message In fact, only 4% said that they would actually forward a sext message What is the effect of this misperception?

17 GIRLS PERCEIVED VS. ACTUAL INTERCOURSE By the end of the eight grade, how many girls do you think have had sexual intercourse? Have you ever had sexual intercourse (had sex, made love, gone all the way)? none had sex 12% Perceived almost all had sex 8% more than half had sex 17% Actual Had sex 22% less than half had sex 36% about half had sex 27% Never had sex 78% 8th grade girls, surveyed June 2002 by PPNYC

18 According to a September 2002 survey of PS th graders, 67% believe that sexual intercourse is for adults in committed or married relationships

19 A Case Study

20 UCM EPIC PROGRAM Encouraging Positive Interventions in Chapters Collect actual and perceived norms in Greek chapters for alcohol-related bystander scenarios Share results of data with chapters in tailored workshops Social norms media campaign Active BI Video contest Also offered as an in-class program on sexual assault for first-year students

21 PROGRAM OVERVIEW 90 minutes Shared social norms data and taught theory Taught bystander intervention theory and skills Used clickers to teach, check understanding and reflect Practiced skills with role plays and scenario worksheets

22 HOW MUCH DOES THE FOLLOWING BOTHER YOU? (FRATERNITY) Noticing an intoxicated chapter member harassing or bothering someone Perception Reality Not at all 7.7% 11.5% Somewhat 50.0% 11.5% Very much 38.5% 73.1%

23 A TYPICAL THURSDAY NIGHT (SORORITY EXAMPLE) 70% of members think their chapter members typically drink more than 3 drinks on a Thursday. In reality 76% of members actually drink 3 or less. 26% drink 1-3 drinks 50% drink 0 drinks

24 WHAT I WANT FROM MY SISTERS 100% of my sisters said they want their sisters to Step in when I m drinking to the point of harming myself Step in if I m drinking to the point of putting the health & safety of others in jeopardy Step in if I m intoxicated and embarrassing the chapter What are the what I want from my brothers / sisters questions for hazing?

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26 INTERVENING DATA

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28 THE CRITICAL QUESTION What increases or decreases the misperception?! Anything that increases the misperception is bad for prevention no matter what the issue or strategy! Misperceptions are one of many influences on abuse and their correction can be combined with other strategies

29 AN ANTI-HAZING HERO when I stepped up, I was kind of like the main person wasn t going to take it anymore And after I stood up and said something at our chapter meeting and presented this whole thing on hazing in front of my chapter I was really nervous and really wasn t sure how the whole chapter was gonna take to that idea or even just how they were going to respond to it, cuz I just felt that I m the only one in this chapter who feels that hazing is wrong

30 AN ANTI-HAZING HERO But then afterwards, you know, that night or the next day I got some s from my brothers who are saying, Hey, I think you have, you know, the right mind-set and we support you. And I felt really, really glad that I wasn t the only one in my fraternity who felt that and that there were people in the fraternity who really felt that hazing is wrong and that they supported my efforts in trying to stop it.! Daniel Kim, 2011 anti-hazing hero awardee

31 CONCLUDING POINTS SNA (misperception correction) is effective as a stand-alone strategy with individuals, groups and communities SNA can be integrated as a component of other strategies to enhance them Misperceptions when uncorrected create a climate that works against our prevention efforts SNA is a way of thinking about prevention as well as a specific strategy

32 NEXT STEPS Incorporate perception questions into hazing surveys. Pilot a small-group norms intervention with individual chapters/organizations, with separate components for new and existing members. Develop Greek or organization specific social norms media campaigns with aggregated data for the campus.! Goal: to bring to the surface healthy anti-hazing norms that exist within Greek organizations

33 CONCLUSION Discussion and comments

34 RESOURCES & STUDIES Haines, MP, Perkins, HP, Rice, RM, Barker, GB. Guide to Marketing Social Norms for Health Promotion in Schools and Communities. DeJong W., Schneider S. K., Towvim L. G., Murphy M., Doerr E., Simonsen N. et al. (2006) A multisite randomized trial of social norms marketing campaigns to reduce college drinking. J Stud Alcohol 2006; 67: ! Berkowitz, AD. A Grassroots Guide to Fostering Healthy Norms to Reduce Violence in Our Communities: A Social Norms Toolkit. (2013). New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Available from Berkowitz, AD (2004). An Overview of the Social Norms Approach. Chapter 13 (p ) in L Lederman, L Stewart, F Goodhart and L Laitman (Eds). Changing the Culture of College Drinking: A Socially Situated Prevention Campaign, Hampton Press. Berkowitz, AD (2010) Fostering Health Norms to Prevent Violence and Abuse: The Social Norms Approach. Chapter 8 in Kaufman, K (Ed): The Prevention of Sexual Violence: A Practitioner s Sourcebook. NEARI Press, Holoyoke, MA.

35 CONTACT INFORMATION Alan Berkowitz Independent Consultant Mount Shasta, CA