Although alcohol use and related problems are highly prevalent in emerging adulthood overall, college students drink somewhat more than do their peers who do not attend college. The personal or social influences underlying this difference, however, are not yet well understood. The present study examined whether personality traits (i.e., self-regulation and sensation seeking) and peer influence (i.e., descriptive drinking norms) contributed to student status differences. At approximately age 22, 4-year college students (n = 331) and noncollege emerging adults (n = 502) completed web-based surveys, including measures of alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, personality, and social norms. College students drank only slightly more heavily. This small difference, however, reflected personality suppression. College students were lower in trait-based risk for drinking, and accounting for traits revealed a stronger positive association between attending college and drinking more heavily. Although noncollege emerging adults reported greater descriptive drinking norms for social group members, norms appeared to more strongly influence alcohol use among college students. Finally, despite drinking less, noncollege individuals experienced more alcohol-related problems. The association between attending college and drinking heavily may be larger than previously estimated, and it may be masked by biased selection into college as a function of both self-regulation and sensation seeking. Differing patterns of alcohol use, its predictors, and its consequences emerged for the college and noncollege samples, suggesting that differing intervention strategies may best meet the needs of each population. / text

This research investigates how communal and exchange brand relationship norms determine consumers’ tendencies in processing brand information in morality or competence terms, respectively. Study 1 tests the hypothesized relationships between relationship norms and morality/competence social cognition. The results show that exchange norm-oriented consumers evaluate a brand mainly based on its competence attributes, whereas communal norm-oriented individuals place additional focus on the brand’s moral conduct. As an extension of Study 1, Study 2 examines the effectiveness of morality-framed and competence-framed advertising messages in relation to the relationship norms salient at brand exposure. The findings reveal that exchange norm-oriented individuals demonstrate more favorable attitudes towards the competence-framed message, whereas communal norm-oriented individuals show more positive attitudes towards the morality-framed message. Finally, Study 3 investigates how the norms dominant in the relationships with a brand influence consumers’ attitude change in response to morality- and competence-based negative information on the brand. The results show that exchange norm-oriented individuals are more susceptible to immoral brand information, and communal norm-oriented individuals are equally affected by both types of negative brand information. This research suggests that the different emphasis on morality and competence information in communal and exchange brand relationships not only influences how consumers form their initial impressions of a brand and evaluations of advertisements but also how they interpret negative brand information as brand relationships unfold. / text

This study aims to find out what relationship high school students have to social networks at the Internet. This has been done by focusing on norms/standards that adolescents can feel under stress to achieve, through stressing themselves by social networks in a way that is consistent with the norms. The empirical data has been gathered by questionnaires which have been answered by adolescents in randomly selected schools and classes in a medium size Swedish town, Karlskrona. The result showed that all of the participating adolescents have user accounts on a social network. Furthermore it also emerged that a lot of the adolescents thought that norms existed that should be followed in a social network about how to stress oneself. The norms were for example to write about things they are proud of, and to write in a way that is consistent to norms in the society. A few of the adolescents in the survey, said they experienced stress by living up to existing norms. However it is notable that a majority of the adolescents surveyed considered that other adolescents experienced stress for this reason. The analysis in this study was made using the dramaturgical perspective of Erving Goffman and his perspective to stigma, and George Herbert Mead’s symbolic interactionism. Finally a discussion of the findings of the study, the method used in the study and suggestions for further research are included.

Huvudsyftet med vår uppsats var att ta reda på hur kvinnor och män framställs i media, där vi avgränsade oss till branschtidningar. Våra frågeställningar var; Hur porträtteras manliga respektive kvinnliga chefer i branschtidningar och hur förhåller de sig till normer om kvinnligt och manligt ledarskap? Vilken problematik kan det finnas kring hur media väljer att framställa chefer? Dessa frågeställningar försökte vi besvara genom att utföra en kvantitativ innehållsanalys och en narratologisk analys på 60 respektive 20 artiklar från branschtidningar. De teorier som har legat till grund för tolkning av resultatet kretsar kring genus, stereotyper och normer om ledarskap. Huvudresultatet blev att det fanns en viss jämställdhet mellan män och kvinnor men det fanns fortfarande betydande skillnader som bekräftade normer kring kvinnligt och manligt ledarskap. Exempelvis log kvinnor mer, de blev oftare fotade i fågelperspektiv med intetsägande bakgrunder. Männen hade neutrala uttryck, blev fotade oftare i grodperspektiv, även om de båda könen hade stor majoritet i ögonhöjd. Männen blev dessutom oftare fotade på sina arbetsplatser. Dessa resultat återfanns i den kvantitativa innehållsanalysen. I den narratologiska analysen framkom det att det fanns en förväntan att kvinnor skulle stöta på motgångar hela tiden medan männen hade en äventyrlig resa mot sitt ledarskap. Kvinnor fick oftare motivera hur de fick ihop ”livspusslet” medan denna aspekt inte förekom hos männen.  Slutsatsen blev att media reproducerade skadliga normer kring kvinnligt och manligt ledarskap, vilket försvårar jämställdhetsarbetet. De måste bli mer medvetna om framställningar av vissa grupper för att motverka dessa normer.   Nyckelord; genus, ledarskap, normer, framställningar / Title: The Power of Media – A comparison study of female and male leaders in media Authors; Sophie Edquist & Marina Sigurdsson Mentor; Amelie Hössjer Date; Autumn 2013 Purpose; The purpose of the essay is to analyze media’s depiction of female and male leaders and the dichotomy between them. Another issue is the power that media possesses to influence these norms. Question; How are male and female leaders portrayed in business magazines and how do they relate to the norms about female and male leadership? What kind of issues can emerge with medias choice of portrayal of executive leaders? Theory; We focus on gender theories and norms around genders roles combined with leadership. We also use role congruity theory and masculinity theory. Method and material; We use quantitative content analysis and narratology analysis to answer our research question. The material we use are 60 articles from business magazines, with 30 male and 30 female portrayals of leaders. Results and conclusions; The results were that there were differences between the two genders and the differences confirmed already established norms. Media reproduce these norms and therefore renders it difficult to proceed with equality in society. Considering the results, media needs to be more conscious of how they portray certain groups. Implications; The implications of media’s use of stereotypes of female and male leaders results in lesser motivations from young females to aspire to higher positions. But also the prejudice towards female leaders is enforced and therefore makes it harder to bring about a change in society. Keywords; gender, norms, leadership, depiction

The subject matter of this thesis can be summarized by a triplet of questions and answers. Showing what these questions and answers mean is, in essence, the goal of my project. The triplet goes like this: Q: How can we make progress in our understanding of social norms and norm compliance? A: Adopting a neurocomputational framework is one effective way to make progress in our understanding of social norms and norm compliance. Q: What could the neurocomputational mechanism of social norm compliance be? A: The mechanism of norm compliance probably consists of Bayesian - Reinforcement Learning algorithms implemented by activity in certain neural populations. Q: What could information about this mechanism tell us about social norms and social norm compliance? A: Information about this mechanism tells us that: a1: Social norms are uncertainty-minimizing devices. a2: Social norm compliance is one trick that agents employ to interact coadaptively and smoothly in their social environment. Most of the existing treatments of norms and norm compliance (e.g. Bicchieri 2006; Binmore 1993; Elster 1989; Gintis 2010; Lewis 1969; Pettit 1990; Sugden 1986; Ullmann‐Margalit 1977) consist in what Cristina Bicchieri (2006) refers to as “rational reconstructions.” A rational reconstruction of the concept of social norm “specifies in which sense one may say that norms are rational, or compliance with a norm is rational” (Ibid., pp. 10-11). What sets my project apart from these types of treatments is that it aims, first and foremost, at providing a description of some core aspects of the mechanism of norm compliance. The single most original idea put forth in my project is to bring an alternative explanatory framework to bear on social norm compliance. This is the framework of computational cognitive neuroscience. The chapters of this thesis describe some ways in which central issues concerning social norms can be fruitfully addressed within a neurocomputational framework. In order to qualify and articulate the triplet above, my strategy consists firstly in laying down the beginnings of a model of the mechanism of norm compliance behaviour, and then zooming in on specific aspects of the model. Such a model, the chapters of this thesis argue, explains apparently important features of the psychology and neuroscience of norm compliance, and helps us to understand the nature of the social norms we live by.

The relationship between the European Union (EU) and New Zealand has expanded considerably since the protracted trade negotiations of the 1970s and now includes dialogue and cooperation on a range of policy issues. In recent years, environment has become an increasingly high priority matter and is increasingly referenced as playing an important part in EU-New Zealand relations. At the same time, the EU has been praised for its leadership role in climate change negotiations, and some scholars have described it as a “green” normative power with the ability to influence other actors internationally on environmental policy. Taking the EU-New Zealand relationship on environment as its case study, this thesis attempts to address a gap in the academic literature concerning relations between New Zealand and the EU on environmental issues. It compares and contrasts the concept of EU normative power with that of policy transfer, arguing that both address the spread of ideas, but finding that what might appear to be normative power and the diffusion of norms, can in fact be best explained as policy transfer and the diffusion of policy or knowledge.

This thesis argues that the transmission of the European Union’s norms and values to Poland, and then to Lithuania and Ukraine, has helped those countries to better manage their relations. As a result of their integration into the EU and other western structures, relations between Poland and Lithuania have become more “normal”. The introduction of EU-mandated border controls has complicated relations between Poland and both Ukraine and Belarus. Poland has deep historic ties with Ukraine and is determined to ensure that Ukraine is offered a pathway that will lead to its eventual integration with Europe. However, relations between Poland and Belarus have worsened. Included in this thesis are the results and analysis of interviews and surveys carried out in Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine in 2008.

While many norms sustain or destabilize certain religions, one domain is particularly relevant to the survival of some religions over others: norms about fertility and reproduction. Thus far, several ethnographic and correlational studies have found a positive association between religiosity and fertility rate, but there is a dearth of laboratory investigation utilizing experimental methods to isolate causation. In Study 1, I found that experimentally activating religious concepts led to an increased desire to have children (N = 462). In Study 2, the focal study, I attempted to replicate and extend the previous study by examining implicit behavior (N = 120). I predicted that individuals primed with religion would be more likely to show an implicit approach motivation towards images of children. Failing to support my hypothesis, participants with religion activated were no more likely to approach images of babies than controls. This null finding was not affected by taking into account several relevant covariates. Additionally, an exploratory investigation of the effect that religious community norms may have on reproductive behavior was conducted. I found that participants that come from religious communities in which sexual deviance is emphasized were more likely to approach baby images. Future directions are discussed.

When accidents occur, citizens often are the real first responders. This has been acknowledged and studied from an international perspective, particularly in relation to large crises and disasters, but remains relatively unstudied from a Swedish perspective. This thesis takes its point of departure from people who have been emergency callers or witnesses to traffic accidents, studying their actions and interactions at the scene of an accident in terms of boundaries, positioning and emergence. The aim of this thesis is to study how people’s actions in a specific situation are affected by their interactions with both real and imagined others and how their actions are affected by the spatial context. The thesis consists of four individual studies that relate differently to the main aim of the thesis. The first study focuses on first responders’ options to act in a place that simultaneously is the workplace of emergency personnel: the incident site. This study shows how first responders’ options to act are governed in large part by their interaction with emergency personnel and their boundary practices at the incident site. In this study, we apply theories of boundary practices from Nippert-Eng and the concept of boundary work from Gieryn to explain how emergency personnel control their place of work through boundary practices and through that process control those first responders who are present at the site. In other words, people’s actions at the incident site are affected by both the social and the spatial context. The second study focuses on a limited selection of first responders: those who have placed emergency calls. Through interviews with callers and transcriptions of their emergency calls, this study explores how the callers frame their decision to stop and place the call through different presentations of self. These presentations are constructed through moral positioning, in which the callers position themselves and their actions in relation to both real and imagined others. Thus, the callers also construct normative accounts of what is considered a “preferable” and “non-preferable” way to act at the scene of an accident. The third study takes its point of departure from theories and previous research on emergence because they have been used by disaster sociologists to explain how citizens are the real first responders to crises and disasters. Through the concepts of emergent behavior and emergent norms, papers in this research field have argued that people in these situations act according to “new and not-yet-institutionalized behavior guidelines”. In this study, I argue that emergence, in other words, citizens as the real first responders, is also present in everyday emergencies. Through the narratives of citizen first responders, I explore how they frame their actions through different normative narratives. These normative narratives are not necessarily emergent, however. Rather, the interviewees use past experience and presentations of self to justify their actions at the scene of an accident. The fourth study is an ethnographic reflection of the researcher’s place-bounded identity in a field study that revolves around several different places. Rather than focusing on a story of first responders, this study focuses on the researcher’s, i.e., my own, story from the scene of an accident, the fire truck and the fire station. What I have been able to study through these different studies are stories of actions rather than “actual” actions or behaviors. In these stories, it becomes clear that first responders relate to both a social and spatial context as they provide accounts of their actions at the scene of an accident. They relate to a social context because they frame their actions through their interactions with different actors and position themselves in relation to those actors—and in relation to a spatial context. That is, they perform their actions in a place that is someone else’s place of work, with jurisdictional claims of both legitimacy and control. In summary, this thesis contributes a deeper knowledge of how citizen first responders interpret, understand and tell the story of their actions at the scene of an accident. The contribution considers the fact that citizen first responders are something of a “blind spot”, not only in the field of emergency research but also for emergency personnel who do not always acknowledge the experience of first responders at the scene of accidents.

Eating disorders and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors are characterized by an over-evaluation of weight and shape, under or over-controlled eating, as well as engagement in compensatory behaviors. The disorders are associated with psychological suffering, acute and long-term health impairments, a high rate of suicide attempts as well as an increased risk of mortality. Knowledge regarding the etiology of eating disorders is limited and based on current models it is not possible to adequately predict either who will get an eating disorder or who will recover. This lack of understanding has hindered the development of effective prevention and treatment interventions. The aim of the present thesis was to contribute towards an increased understanding of eating disorders and disordered eating attitudes and behavior through the collection of norms and psychometric data, investigation of risk factors and their roles, and focusing on the understudied group of males with eating disorders. Five studies were included. Specifically, Study I focused on collecting general population and clinical norms on the well-established Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and the Clinical Impairment Assessment Questionnaire (CIA). Study II both collected general population norms on, and investigated psychometric properties of, the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ-8C), an instrument intended to assess body dissatisfaction. Study III focused on the role of perfectionism (an established risk factor for eating disorders) as a possible mediator or moderator between body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behavior and attitudes. Finally, in Study IV and V attention was placed on males. In Study IV the specific aim was to compare the clinical characteristics between young males and females with eating disorders while in study V the specific aim was to explore variables associated with disordered eating among young males based on a compilation of factors known to play a role among females as well as factors thought to be uniquely associated with males, such as sexual orientation and drive for muscularity. A greater understanding of eating disorders will help reduce the stigma that is associated with eating disorders, easing the way for affected individuals to seek help and ultimately improve the development of effective prevention and intervention.