What do we really mean when we say something is a social norm? And why do some norms hold on—even when nobody seems to like them?

This episode explores the architecture of social norms through the work of Cristina Bicchieri, drawing on notes from Norms in the Wild and The Grammar of Society. It covers what distinguishes norms from customs, conventions, laws, and moral rules - and why that distinction matters for anyone working in behavioural science, public policy, or cultural change.

The episode covers:

* How empirical and normative expectations work together

* What it means to have a conditional preference for conformity

* How scripts activate norms in context

* Why unpopular norms persist (hint: it’s not always about belief)

* What it actually takes to shift social norms—not just in theory, but in practice

The episode is based on briefing notes synthesised from Bicchieri’s writing and aims to support practitioners who want a more structured view of norm dynamics. As with all episodes, it was generated using NotebookLM and curated by Elina Halonen.

Quick Glossary

* Empirical expectations: What I believe others will do

* Normative expectations: What I believe others think I should do

* Conditional preference: I’ll conform if I believe others are conforming—and expect me to

* Reference network: The people whose opinions and behaviours shape my expectations

* Pluralistic ignorance: When we wrongly assume others support a norm, and stay silent

* Scripts: Mental templates that guide behaviour in familiar situations—often unconsciously

Note on terminology: In Norms in the Wild, Bicchieri clarifies that what she defines as social norms corresponds to what Cialdini et al. (1990) refer to as injunctive norms—that is, rules based on perceived social approval or disapproval. Although the terminology differs, the underlying concept is the same.

This episode introduces the choice triad model—a transdisciplinary framework that integrates strategic design, behavioural science, and systems thinking. Originally proposed in “Choice posture, architecture, and infrastructure: systemic behavioral design for public health policy” (Schmidt, Chen & Soldan, 2022), the episode offers a reflective walkthrough of the paper’s core ideas and practical implications, especially for those working at the intersection of behavioural strategy and policy design.

Rather than focusing solely on individual behaviour, the authors offer three intersecting lenses for understanding and shaping public health policy:

* Choice posture – the predispositions, histories, and values of agents within the system

* Choice architecture – how decisions are shaped by immediate environments and cues

* Choice infrastructure – the underlying systems, structures, and policies that support or constrain behaviour

Using the Flint water crisis as a case example, the episode explores how these three dimensions interact in real-world contexts—and how they can be used across the diagnosis, generation, and evaluation phases of intervention design.

It covers:

* A clear explanation of each component of the triad

* How the model applies across stages of intervention development

* Why infrastructure and posture can quietly undermine even well-designed nudges

* What a more systemic view of behaviour change can offer for complex public health and policy challenges

As always, this audio version was generated using NotebookLM and curated by Elina Halonen. It’s intended as a listenable way into the ideas—for when reading the paper isn’t an option, but engaging with the thinking still is.

Source:

Schmidt, R., Chen, Z., & Soldan, V. P. (2022). Choice posture, architecture, and infrastructure: systemic behavioral Design for Public Health Policy. She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, 8(4), 504-525.

ResearchGate | Ruth Schmidt’s website

This episode brings together key ideas from three essays on the use of ontologies in behavioural science. It looks at how shared frameworks can help organise behavioural concepts across sectors like public health, technology, and policy—making them easier to apply, scale, and adapt.

It also reflects on the challenges that come with this approach: from the risk of oversimplifying complex behaviour to the difficulty of maintaining frameworks that stay useful over time.

The podcast version was created using NotebookLM and curated by Elina Halonen. It’s designed for times when listening fits better than reading—offering a way into the ideas, with links to the full texts for deeper exploration.

The podcast version was created with AI tools and curated by Elina Halonen to reflect the intent and tone of the original. It’s designed for those moments when you don’t have the bandwidth to read a long, detailed article—something you can listen to while doing other things, and come back to the full piece when you're ready to dive deeper.

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