Welcome to the Web Site
of the National Social Norms Institute

The National Social Norms Institute opened its doors in 2006 at the University of Virginia, a nationally renowned public institution.  The Institute’s origins began in 2000 with the establishment of the National Social Norms Resource Center at Northern Illinois University.  Since moving to UVA, the mission expanded to include research, evaluation, and dissemination of information on the social norms approach to the field. Our goals are to demonstrate and facilitate the extension of the methodology to other health issues and other populations. The NSNI advisory board consists of prominent researchers and academicians in the field.

The National Social Norms Institute is made possible through a generous gift from the Anheuser Busch companies.

The 2008 National Conference on the Social Norms Approach is scheduled for
July 20 - 22, 2008. The conference will take place at:

Hyatt Regency
San Francisco Airport
1333 Bayshore Highway
Burlingame, CA 94010
(650) 347-1234
Conference Hotel Rates
$149 per night for Single or Double Room
$159 per night for Triple or Quad Room

The conference schedule, and registration information, is now available here.

Please see the Call for Programs for details; the submission deadline was March 21, 2008.

An impressive number of articles were published last year concerning the role of social norms in a broad range of areas, including gambling, tax compliance, energy conservation, risky sexual behavior, and high-risk alcohol consumption. As always, complete abstracts for these articles are available in the section of our web site devoted to Recent Research.

Bobek, D.D., Roberts, R. W., Sweeney, J. T. "The Social Norms of Tax Compliance: Evidence from Australia, Singapore, and the United States." Journal of Business Ethics, 74:49-64, 2007.

Chawla, Neharika, Clayton Neighbors, Melissa A. Lewis, Christine M. Lee, Mary E. Larimer, "Attitudes and Perceived Approval of Drinking as Mediators of the Relationship Between the Importance of Religion and Alcohol Use" Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2007, 68(3): 410-418.

Cialdini, R. "Descriptive Social Norms as Underappreciated Sources of Social Control." Psychometrika, vol. 72, No. 2, 263-268, 2007.

Fisher, Terri D., "Sex of Experimenter and Social Norm Effects on Reports of Sexual Behavior in Young Men and Women." Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2007, 36:1, 89-100.

Goldstein, Noah J., Vladas Griskevicius, and Robert B. Cialdin, "Invoking Social Norms: A Social Psychology Perspective on Improving Hotels' Linen-Reuse Programs." Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 2007, 48(2): 145-150.

Lewis, Melissa L., Lee, C. M., Patrick. M. E., Fossos, N. "Gender-specific Normative Misperceptions of Risky Sexual Behavior and Alcohol-related Risky Sexual Behavior." Sex Roles, 57:81-90, 2007.

Lewis, Melissa L. and Clayton Neighbors, "Optimizing Personalized Normative Feedback: The Use of Gender-Specific Referents." Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2007, 68(3):385-392.

Lewis, T. F., "Perceptions of Risk and Sex-Specific Social Norms in Explaining Alcohol Consumption among College Students: Implications for Campus Interventions." Journal of College Student Development, May/June 2007, Vol. 48, No. 3., 297-310.

Martens, Matthew P., Amanda G. Ferrier, and M. Dolores Cimini, "Do Protective Behavioral Strategies Mediate the Relationship Between Drinking Motives and Alcohol Use in College Students?." Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2007, 68: 106-114.

McAlaney, John, and John McMahon, "Normative Beliefs, Misperceptions, and Heavy Episodic Drinking in a British Student Sample." Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2007, 68: 228-237.

Neighbors, Clayton, Nicole Fossos, Briana A. Woods, Patricia Fabiano, Michael Sledge, and Deborah Frost, "Social Anxiety as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Perceived Norms and Drinking." Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2007, 68: 91-96.

Neighbors, Clayton, Lee, C.M., Lewis, M., Fossos, N., "Are Social Norms the Best Predictors of Outcomes Among Heavy-Drinking College Students?" Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68:556-565, 2007

Neighbors, Clayton, Lostutter, T. W., Whiteside, U., Fossos, N., Walker, D.D., Larimer, M. E. "Injunctive Norms and Problem Gambling among College Students." Journal of Gambling Studies, 23:253-273, 2007.

Park, Hee Sun and Sandi W. Smith, "Distinctiveness and Influence of Subjective Norms, Personal Descriptive and Injunctive Norms, and Societal Descriptive and Injunctive Norms on Behavioral Intent: A Case of Two Behaviors Critical to Organ Donation" Human Communication Research, 2007, 33(2):194-218.

Perkins, H.W., "Misperceptions of Peer Drinking Norms in Canada: Another Look at the 'Reign of Error' and Its Consequences among College Students." Addictive Behaviors, 32, 2645-2656, 2007.

Schultz, P.W., Nolan, J. M., Cialdini, R. B. , Goldstein, N. J. , and Griskevicius, V. "The Constructive, Destructive, and Reconstructive Power of Social Norms." Psychological Science, Volume 18, No. 5, 429-434, 2007.

2007 National Conference Highlight

Over 250 people attended the 10th annual National Conference on the Social Norms Approach which was held in Cambridge, MA, July 15-17, 2007. The conference's keynote address was delivered by Dr. James Turner, Executive Director of the National Social Norms Research Institute that was recently established at the University of Virginia.

In his address Dr. Turner dissected the key elements of a report recently issued by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) that became the subject of widespread news coverage. His discussion focused on how the data were used to create a very negative message about college students and the college environment, and he provided advice about how practitioners can critically read these types of reports in the future. A copy of Dr. Turner's Power Point presentation, entitled "CASA Nova: A New Spin on an Old Subject," is available in PDF format here.