The 2010 National Social Norms Conference: An Overview

This year's National Conference on the Social Norms Approach held July 11-13 at the Hyatt Regency Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing featured programs from a variety of new and familiar participants. Co-sponsored by the BACCHUS Network and the National Social Norms Institute (NSNI), the conference featured myriad programs including how to use the social norms approach to increase savings of upper income women, to access mental health care  as well as evaluation methods and audience response technology.  Dr. Ellen Bass, an Associate Professor in the Department of Systems and Information Engineering gave an interesting lunchtime talk comparing systems engineering to the social norms approach.  Dr. Bass joined Drs. Perkins and Hancock in an engaging panel discussion Tuesday examining the approach from an academic, researcher and practitioner perspective.  Drew Hunter, CEO of the BACCHUS Network welcomed the participants, followed by Dr. jennifer bauerle, Director of NSNI who presented opening remarks.  Michael Haines gave the keynote address, “Everything I Needed to Know about Social Norms I Learned in High School,” which included a top 10 list.

As in previous years, the optional Pre-conference Workshop, was led by Michael Haines and Dr. Wes Perkins, and continued to be a highlight of the conference. This intensive seminar is designed specifically for those conference attendees who are relatively new to the social norms approach and who wish to gain a solid understanding of the underlying theory and its application to the field of health promotion.