By Ryan Ulrich
Social norms theory states that people tend to overestimate the occurrence of negative behaviours and underestimate the occurrence of positive behaviours. By misperceiving that these negative behaviours are the ‘norm’, people are more likely to engage in them, but in reality, the negative behaviours are occurring much less than people realize.What does this mean for substance use prevention education? Here is a good example. Ask yourself, among United States high school students ...