The Social Norms, Social Change I course on Coursera provides an introduction to the concept of social norms – the unwritten rules that shape behavior within societies. It focuses on how these norms influence collective practices and how they differ from related concepts such as customs, traditions, and conventions.
A central aim of the course is to help learners understand how social norms operate and how they can be identified and measured. It introduces key concepts such as social expectations and conditional preferences, enabling participants to analyze why individuals follow certain behaviors and how these behaviors are sustained within communities.
The course also explores how social norms contribute to real-world issues such as child marriage, gender-based violence, and sanitation practices. By examining these examples, learners gain insight into how harmful norms can persist and how they might be changed through targeted interventions and policy strategies.
Overall, the course equips learners with practical tools to diagnose social norms, assess their impact on behavior, and design effective strategies to promote positive social change.
