Evidence Snacks
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The unconscious nature of norms

The unconscious nature of norms

How group behaviour influences individuals

Hey 👋

Hope your week is going well and you’ve initiated some sweet Valentine’s routines. Today’s Evidence Snacks kicks off a new series on norms in school…

Big idea 🍉

Norms have a significant influence on learning and behaviour in school. But not everyone is fully aware of their power and presence. Let's dive in:

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Humans are heavily influenced by the behaviour and attitudes of others. The effect is particularly powerful when a large proportion of a group acts in a similar way.

These unwritten rules of conduct are known as 'norms' and they play a HUGE role in school (and society). Their prevelance is driven by two main factors:

Risk reduction An imitation shortcut to behaviour makes sense from a risk perspective—if everyone else is doing it, it can't be all that bad a bet, right?
Co-operation Having a degree of conformity in how we do things is essential for large group co-operation—and working together at scale can supercharge individual and collective success.

As a result, humans have evolved a tendency not only to imitate the behaviours and attitudes of others, but to enforce them. When norms are established, group members often collaborate to penalise those who don't conform.

Norms are so powerful that they can often override more formal school policies and rules. They are the reason I struggle to get my son to put his socks on in the morning, yet his teacher can get him and 29 other kids to do much more challenging stuff for hours on end. Norms are so powerful that we can feel compelled to imitate behaviour even when it’s irrational.

Without norms, schools (and society) would seriously struggle to function. However, they are largely invisible and operate below our awareness. The adoption of group behaviour is not a conscious decision. It is a fast and frugal approach to the deployment of our resources that our brain makes on our behalf, without consulting us, using emotional and automated circuitry.

This makes norms easy to underestimate, if not completely igore. Which is why, as a profession, we don't have a lot of language to talk about them, or explicit strategies for shaping them.

“You can’t change what you don’t understand.”

Scott Card

In forthcoming Snacks, we'll explore how we might influence norms, but the first step is just to build our own awareness of their presence.

Can you think of a time when you've been swayed by group behaviour or attitudes (think online reviews)? How do you feel at the prospect of breaking a norm (such as wearing jeans to a smart event)? How do norms influence behaviour and attitudes in your classroom/school?

🎓 For more on the mechanics of group behaviour, see Norm perception as a vehicle for social change, by Tankard & Paluck.

Summary

• Our students (and the rest of us) are heavily influenced by the behaviour and attitudes of others.

• The effects of these norms are powerful, but largely invisible and unconscious.

• If we want to influence norms, we must begin by developing our awareness of their prevalence and role in school and life.

Little updates 🥕

For early years folks, here’s a new study on the impact of social ‘pretend’ play in Early Years.
Sam Sims et al. have recently released an analysis of the reliability of Ofsted Inspector judgements in England.
Finally, a bonus small (n=13) study of teacher goals and strategies around seating arrangements.

Till next week.

Peps 👊