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From innovation to social norm: bounded normative influence.

D Lawrence Kincaid1

  • 1Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. lkincaid@jhuccp.org

Journal of Health Communication
|February 13, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Innovation diffusion is explained by bounded normative influence. A minority can establish a new social norm by maintaining majority status within local network boundaries, even influencing the wider network.

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Area of Science:

  • Social science
  • Sociology
  • Network theory

Background:

  • Social norms exert strong influence, posing a paradox for how innovations diffuse and become new norms.
  • Prevailing social science theories inadequately explain how a minority can influence a majority to adopt new behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To resolve the paradox of minority influence on majority social norms.
  • To identify the mechanisms driving the diffusion of innovations within social networks.

Main Methods:

  • Computer simulations modeling behavior diffusion in a Bangladesh village social network.
  • Analysis of emergent boundaries within social networks and their impact on norm creation.

Main Results:

  • Discovery of bounded normative influence as a principle of social change.

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  • Demonstration that local network boundaries are crucial for establishing new social norms.
  • A minority can become the norm by maintaining local majority status and expanding influence.

    • Conclusions:

    • Bounded normative influence explains how minority behaviors can become widespread social norms.
    • The structure of social networks, particularly local boundaries, plays a critical role in social change.
    • Centrality and effective communication within minority subgroups accelerate the adoption of new norms.