How can you use social influence to challenge harmful norms and beliefs?

1 Identify the norm or belief

The first step is to identify the norm or belief that you want to challenge. A norm is a shared expectation of how people should behave in a given situation, while a belief is a conviction or opinion that is accepted as true. Some norms and beliefs are beneficial, such as respecting human rights, while others are harmful, such as discriminating against minorities. You can use different methods to identify harmful norms and beliefs, such as conducting surveys, interviews, focus groups, or observations, or reviewing existing literature and data.

2 Understand the factors

The second step is to understand the factors that influence the norm or belief. These factors can be divided into three categories: individual, interpersonal, and structural. Individual factors are the personal characteristics, values, motivations, and emotions that affect how people think and act. Interpersonal factors are the social relationships, networks, roles, and norms that affect how people interact and influence each other. Structural factors are the environmental, institutional, cultural, and political factors that affect how people access resources and opportunities, and how they are rewarded or punished for their behavior.

3 Choose the strategy

The third step is to choose the strategy that best suits your goal, audience, and context. There are different types of social influence strategies, such as education, persuasion, modeling, nudging, social proof, social comparison, social identity, and social sanctions. Education involves providing information and raising awareness about the issue and its consequences. Persuasion involves using arguments, evidence, and appeals to change people's attitudes and beliefs. Modeling involves demonstrating the desired behavior and its benefits. Nudging involves creating subtle cues or incentives that guide people's choices. Social proof involves showing people that others are doing the desired behavior or supporting the cause. Social comparison involves showing people how they perform relative to others or to a standard. Social identity involves creating a sense of belonging and shared values with a group that supports the desired behavior or cause. Social sanctions involve using rewards or punishments to reinforce or discourage behavior.

4 Implement the intervention

The fourth step is to implement the intervention that delivers the social influence strategy. An intervention is a planned and coordinated action that aims to change the norm or belief and its associated behavior. There are different formats and channels for delivering interventions, such as campaigns, workshops, events, media, online platforms, or peer-to-peer networks. The intervention should be designed based on the principles of effective communication, such as clarity, relevance, credibility, timeliness, and feedback. The intervention should also be tailored to the specific needs, preferences, and characteristics of the target audience, such as age, gender, culture, language, and literacy.

5 Evaluate the impact

The fifth step is to evaluate the impact of the intervention on the norm or belief and its associated behavior. Evaluation involves collecting and analyzing data to measure the outcomes and effects of the intervention, and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the process. Evaluation can be done using different methods and tools, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, tests, or indicators. Evaluation can be done before, during, and after the intervention, to assess the baseline, the progress, and the results. Evaluation can help you to determine the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, sustainability, and scalability of the intervention, and to learn from the experience and improve your future practice.

6 Share the learning

The sixth step is to share the learning from the intervention with others who are interested or involved in the issue. Sharing the learning involves communicating the findings, insights, and recommendations from the evaluation, and engaging in dialogue and feedback with the stakeholders, such as the beneficiaries, partners, funders, or policymakers. Sharing the learning can help you to increase the visibility, credibility, and influence of your work, to build relationships and networks with other actors, to foster collaboration and coordination, and to inspire and support others to take action.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?