Exploring Social Norms as a Framework to Understand Decisions to be Physically Active

In light of public health concerns surrounding the consequences of sedentary behavior and physical inactivity, exploring ways to encourage physically active lifestyles has become a critical concern for researchers. Social norms, conceptualized as how individuals perceive the beliefs and behaviors of significant others, have the potential to be a powerful influence on individuals. The investigation of social norms, initially grounded in theory of planned behavior, evolved to be the focal point of the focus theory of normative construct and the theory of normative social behavior. This more complex conceptualization of social norms provided insight into how perceptions of social norms influence decisions about health-related behaviors. The purpose of this review is to present social norm theories as a viable framework to investigate how environments can be structured to promote physical activity.