U.S. News & World Report ranks Rowan University 28th | More

Program helps Rowan freshmen make connections | More

Princeton Review Names Rowan University a "Best in the Northeast" college | More

Current Projects: NJ Department of Education Social Norms Project

In 2005, the New Jersey Department of Education partnered with the Center for Addiction Studies to create the Social Norms Project. Seventeen middle and high schools in NJ were selected to be the first schools to take on this initative. Schools were located throughout the state and in urban, suburban, and rural areas.

This project was based on the Social Norms Theory, which states that individuals act in accordance with how they think their peers expect them to act. However, there is often a difference in what students think their peers are doing and what their peers are actually doing. For example, college students often think "everybody drinks." Part of this is because when at parties, students remember the individual who was binge drinking or acting in an outlandish way. Students may not realize that the majority of the people at that party might be drinking responsibly (if over 21) or not at all.

This gap between what students think is the norm of their peers and what is actually the norm is called the misperception. Over a decade of research at the college level has found that correcting this misperception can lead to changes in student behavior. The term "social norms" is defined by H. Wesley Perkins, Ph.D., as a proactive prevention program that communicates “the truth about peer norms in terms of what the majority of students actually think and do, all on the basis of credible data drawn from the student population that is the target" (2003).


The Social Norms Project uses data collected from the students to ascertain the norms of the school related to bullying or substance use, depending on the project. This confidential data is gathered through an online survey and messages are created from that data to promote the positive norms of the school.

A follow-up survey is given the following year to determine what effect the campaign had on changing the behaviors of students. Active consents are collected prior to surveying as required by NJ state law.

Schools who participate in this project receive funding to cover media campaign expenses as well as surveying, analysis, and some administrative costs. They also receive at least 4 posters specifically designed for their school (and several copies of each poster) with the norms of only their student population. Statewide trainings are held and technical assistance is readily available through the Center for Addiction Studies.

Please click here for poster samples, published media, and an application for the 2008-2009 school year.

To be sent a booklet with a CD that has all the information related to this project, or if you have any questions, please contact the Social Norms Project coordinator Allie Pearce at 856-863-2175 or pearce@rowan.edu .