Project Empowerment
(Name of your school
Name of your organization
Contact information for you)
Drunk
Sober
 Everybody
thinks everybody
else does more of everything
than they actually do.
 We
tend to overestimate how
much other people do
unhealthy things and
underestimate how often people
do healthy things.
Norms and Misperceptions
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Norm: an unspoken social rule or code about how
people are supposed to behave or what they are
supposed to believe.
Norms influence our behavior.
People have to infer what norms are. Norms are not
explicitly taught or explained.
As a result, people misperceive what the norms are.
Misperceived norms are as powerful as actual norms
in influencing behavior.
Media Literacy
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What does “NEWS” mean?
We notice the “difference” not the pattern.
“Out of the Ordinary” gets the attention.
Focusing on the unusual makes it appear
usual.
Not-Normal behavior looks like the Norm.
Misperceived Norms
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A misperceived norm will be perpetuated if
most people believe most other people think
it is true.
Ex: (Your school) is a party school.
Even if you don’t personally agree with the
misperceived norm, if you think everyone
else does that’s enough to perpetuate the
misperception (for you and for others).
When most people think unhealthy behavior
is the norm, that allows the unhealthy
behavior to go unchallenged.
Comparing Perceptions to Reality
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The alcohol survey you completed provided
us with what you estimated norms are for
alcohol related behaviors among various
students (your group, and students
campuswide).
This presentation will compare your group’s
estimates (i.e. perceptions) with the actual
behavior of these other groups.
Collecting Data on Actual Behaviors
of your group and (your school)
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You reported how much you engage in
certain behaviors and so did other
students.
This provided the data for the actual
norms for your group.
A campus wide mailed random sample
survey provided information about
actual norms for the campus.
You estimate
your group
believes:
Your group
actually
believes:
Drinking is never a
good thing
All right, but don’t get
smashed
Occasional drunk is
OK, but it doesn’t
interfere
Occasional drunk is
ok even if it does
interfere
Frequent drunk is OK if
that is what the person
wants
You estimate
(your school)
believes:
(Your school)
actually
believes:
Drinking is never a
good thing
All right, but don’t get
smashed
Occasional drunk is
OK, but it doesn’t
interfere
Occasional drunk is
ok even if it does
interfere
Frequent drunk is OK
if that is what the
person wants
On average how many drinks do the
following groups have when they consume
alcohol?
You
estimated
Your Group
Students at
(Your school)
Actual
findings
How often do the following
groups drink per week?
You
estimated
Your Group
Students at
(Your school)
Actual
findings
Of students who do drink, what percentage of students
practice the following behaviors when they drink?
(percentage of respondents answering “always” or “usually”.)
_% of students in _% of students
your group do
campuswide do
this
this
Eat before and
during drinking
Have a
designated driver
Choose
beverages you
know the alcohol
content of
Limit $$$ spent
on alcohol
During the past 30 days, what percentage of
students engaged in the following behaviors?
_% of students in
your group
did this
Intervened with a
drunk friend to
prevent injury
Prevent friend from
going home with
someone they
might regret
Intervened to keep
someone from
being a victim or
victimizing
someone
_% of students
campuswide
did this
During the past 30 days, what percentage of
students engaged in the following behaviors?
_% of students in _% of students
your group
campuswide
did this
did this
Went to a
party/social
activity not
serving alcohol
Did something
fun without
alcohol
Refused an offer
of alcohol
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
1. We’re more likely to drink more heavily if we think other
students drink a lot, and that they approve of heavy drinking.
2. Students don’t drink as much as you thought.
3. Most students who do drink are more responsible than we
give them credit for.
4. Students are making healthier choices than we realize,
whether or not they choose to drink.