Norms are the unwritten rules that govern the behaviour and attitudes of a group.
They are so powerful that they often override more formal rules or policies.
They are so powerful that they often override more formal rules or policies.
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What we amplify, we encourage.
When we see one person picking up litter, we might consider doing it.
When we see EVERYONE else picking up litter, we start to worry about being left out.
"Singh has come in and got started on the task straight away."
But some aspects are less obvious. In particular: the importance of 'accentuating the positive'.
Previously, there were times when a large proportion of my class didn't do their homework. I'd come in the next lesson and chastise them:
"Team, this isn't good enough. Loads of you didn't do your homework. Sort yourselves out."
But what message was I sending?
And so, those few students who DID do their homework were now questioning whether they were at risk of not aligning with expected group behaviour (unconsciously at least) 😱
In short, when nudging norms, it's best to amplify what we WANT to happen, not what we DON'T.
We must accentuate the positive.