About this Course

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This is a course on social norms, the rules that glue societies together. It teaches how to diagnose social norms, and how to distinguish them from other social constructs, like customs or conventions. These distinctions are crucial for effective policy interventions aimed to create new, beneficial norms or eliminate harmful ones. The course teaches how to measure social norms and the expectations that support them, and how to decide whether they cause specific behaviors.  The course is a joint Penn-UNICEF project, and it includes many examples of norms that sustain behaviors like child marriage, gender violence and sanitation practices. 
This is Part 1 of the Social Norms, Social Change series. In these lectures, I introduce all the basic concepts and definitions, such as social expectations and conditional preferences, that help us distinguish between different types of social practices like customs, descriptive norms and social norms. Expectations and preferences can be measured, and these lectures explain how to measure them. Measurement is crucial to understanding the nature of the practice you are facing, as well as whether an intervention was or was not successful, and why. In Part 2, we will put into practice all we have learned in Part 1.

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

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Beginner Level

Approx. 12 hours to complete

English

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Skills you will gain

Education
Social Psychology
Research Methods
Qualitative Research

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Beginner Level

Approx. 12 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.73/5 (414 Ratings)

Cristina Bicchieri

S. J. Patterson Harvie Professor of Social Thought and Comparative Ethics

Department of Philosophy

111,139 Learners

2 Courses

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating98%(36,412 ratings)

Week1

Week 1

2 hours to complete

Interdependent & Independent Actions + Empirical Expectations

2 hours to complete

13 videos (Total 48 min), 7 readings, 2 quizzes

13 videos

Introduction to Interdependent and Independent Behavior1m1.13m1.24m1.35m1.42m1.55m1.64mIntroduction to Empirical Expectations1m2.13m2.24m2.33m2.42m2.54m

7 readings

What makes a behavior independent versus interdependent?2mWhat is a custom?4mHow do the concepts of interdependent and independent behavior apply in the wild?4mWhat are social expectations?1mWhat are empirical expectations?1mHow do unilateral and multilateral expectations relate to imitation and coordination?6mWhat is a descriptive norm?4m

2 practice exercises

Quiz #1: Independent and Interdependent Behavior30mQuiz #2: Empirical Expectations30m

Week2

Week 2

3 hours to complete

Normative Expectations + Personal Normative Beliefs

3 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 30 min), 6 readings, 2 quizzes

9 videos

Introduction to Normative Expectations1m3.13m3.23m3.34m3.42mIntroduction to Personal Normative Beliefs1m4.15m4.25m4.32m

6 readings

What are Normative Expectations?10mSanctions10mReference Network Dependence10mNon-Prudential Personal Normative Beliefs10mPersonal Normative Beliefs vs. Normative Expectations10mAttitudes vs. Personal Normative Beliefs10m

2 practice exercises

Quiz 3: Normative Expectations30mQuiz 4: Personal Normative Beliefs30m

Week3

Week 3

2 hours to complete

Conditional Preferences + Social Norms

2 hours to complete

11 videos (Total 43 min), 4 readings, 2 quizzes

Week4

Week 4

5 hours to complete

Pluralistic Ignorance + Measuring Norms

5 hours to complete

12 videos (Total 90 min), 9 readings, 3 quizzes

12 videos

Introduction to Pluralistic Ignorance1m7.16m7.23m7.36mIntroduction to Measuring Norms2m8.17m8.217m8.315m8.413m8.58m8.64mClosing1m

9 readings

What is Pluralistic Ignorance?10mWhether We are Facing Pluralistic Ignorance is an Empirical Question10mPossibilities for Tackling Pluralistic Ignorance10mMeasurement: From the Lab to the Field10mHypotheticals and Belief-Expectation Manipulation10mMeasuring Beliefs and Expectations10mMeasuring Social Conditionality of Preference10mLimits of Traditional Surveys and Solutions10mVignettes10m

3 practice exercises

Quiz 7: Pluralistic Ignorance30mQuiz 8A: Measuring Norms, Part 130mQuiz 8B: Measuring Norms, Part 230m

Reviews

4.6

501 reviews

5 stars
72.86%
4 stars
20.28%
3 stars
4.90%
2 stars
1.02%
1 star
0.91%

TOP REVIEWS FROM SOCIAL NORMS, SOCIAL CHANGE I

by SYJun 14, 2017

Really enjoyed this course. Insightful. Professor clearly communicates course content. Could do without all the opening jingles/intros since the video clips are really short, though.

by EDOct 12, 2019

For a first time user, fresh to this information, it was stimulating and exciting to be learning how to identify social norms etc. and how to measure various aspects to effect change.

by JCAug 4, 2019

Achei o curso muito interessante e importante para entender a minha area de trabalho com certeza abso;uta irei implementar os conhecimentos adquiridos e estou pronta para entrar na 2 parte do curso

by NAAug 29, 2020

The course materials are educative and just right for education purpose, I appreciate the facilitator and say thank you for your time and the knowledge you impact on me about Social Norm’s

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

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When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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Social Norms, Social Change I