Positive Deviance

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Positive Deviance:
A New Approach for Qualitative Research

Copyright© INTAGE VIETNAM LLC. All Rights Reserved. 2
“Positive Deviance” refers to actions considered deviant within a given context, but
which are later reinterpreted as appropriate or even heroic.
02Steve Jobs
04
Lady Gaga
03
Warren Buffet
01Mahatma Gandhi

Copyright© INTAGE Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3
Marching against War. Her answer was “No”
Instead, Marching for Peace
- Mother Teresa -
SHE HAD POSITIVE DEVIANCE VIEW

Positive Deviance is an uncommon behavior or practice
observed in certain individuals or groups, which enables
them to find better solutions to problems than other people
who are facing similar difficulties.
The Positive Deviance approach is an asset-based,
problem-solving approach that enables the community to
discover these successful behaviors and develop an action
plan to promote their adoption.
What is Positive Deviance Approach?

Positive Deviance Approach was first applied in Vietnam
• Jerry Sternin: Save the Children project in Vietnam in 1990
• The team’s mission: improve the nutritional status of
children
• At the start of the research, 64% of children in the pilot
villages were malnourished.
• Through a PD inquiry, the team had found poor but well
nourished children within the pilot villages

What PD behaviors were found?
PD Families
 Cooked the vines of potatoes which are usually thrown
away although it’s rich in nutrients.
 Caught small crabs and shrimps living in the rice
paddies and cooked them to eat.
 Fed children 3-4 times a day.
 Parents helped their children eat meals by literally
bringing food into their mouth.
 They had their children wash their hands before
every meal.
At the end of the two year pilot, malnutrition fell by 85%.
The team helped the villagers design a program to act their way into a new way of thinking.
Other Family
 The vines of potatoes are usually through away.
 No catching or cooking of small crabs and shrimps are
observed.
 Feed children 2 meals a day.
 Children ate meals on their own and may drop and
waste some food.
 They may have told their children to wash their hands
but children did not wash hands all the time.

How PD Approach is
different from traditional
problem solving?

Problem Solving Approach
TRADITIONAL vs. POSITIVE DEVIANCE
 Outside – in, Consultancy
 Deficit based “What’s wrong here?”
 Begin with analysis of underlying causes of
PROBLEM
 Inside – out, Anthropology
 Asset based “What’s right here?”
 Begin with observation of demonstrably
successful SOLUTIONS
Traditional Positive Deviance
Adapted from Jerry Sternin

Adapted from Jerry Sternin
Traditional
#1 - Define
#2 - Analysis
#3 - Develop
#4 - Implement
#5 - Evaluate
Positive Deviance
#1 - Define
#2 - Determine
#3 - Discover
#4 - Design
#5 - Discern
Problem Solving Approach
TRADITIONAL vs. POSITIVE DEVIANCE

STEPS for PD Approach
Define the problem, current perceived causes, challenges and constraints, and desired outcomes.#1
Determine the presence of positive deviance individuals or groups#2
Discover uncommon but successful behaviors and strategies through inquiry and observation#3
Design activities to allow community members to practice the discovered behaviors.#4
Monitor and evaluate the resulting project or initiative which further fuels change by documenting
and sharing improvements as they occur, and help the community discern the effectiveness of the
initiative.
#5

Applying PD Approach to
Employment Satisfaction Survey
To find a better strategy to improve motivations of employees
and strengthen their bonds with the company.

The Company X could not achieve the sales target in 2018 and the employees’ salaries were
not increased as much as the previous year when they had achieved the target.
Most employees were not happy about the little increase in salary, and there was significant
drop in ES scores conducted in the beginning of this year.
Despite this situation, the company wishes to keep up their motivation and bond with the
company in order to achieve this year’s target.
#1 Define desirable situation

Team 1
Team 2
Team 3
Team 4
Team 5
Team 6
Team 9
Team 9
Team 7
3.50
4.00
4.50
5.00
5.50
6.00
6.50
7.00
3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00 5.50 6.00 6.50 7.00
#2 Determine PD from ES scoresAttachmenttothecompany
Satisfaction with their job & salary
Typical
Success Case
Typical
Failure Case

#3 Discover PD behaviors through interviews & observation
Team 1
Team 2
Team 3
Team 4
Team 5
Team 6
Team 9
Team 10
Team 7
 They bring their children to work when they
have to stay late at work, and other team
members take care of the children.
 Most teams celebrate each other’s birthday
by eating cakes, but this team celebrates
birthdays and holidays by decorating their
work space.
 They have fish as team’s pet, and each
member is in charge of taking care of the fish
(leader also needs to clean the fish tank!)
 The team leader talks positive aspects of the
company; not only the salary but long term
benefits of working at the same company.

#4 Design the strategy
Conduct a workshop with team leaders to come up with any co-creation activities which all
team members can engage themselves in.
Show employees the long term benefits of working at this company.

Other Potential Areas to Apply PD Approach
• Improving store management or
customer service of the stores
• And more…

Positive Deviance is not a “Success story”
It’s about finding out solutions which anyone can practice

THANK YOU

Positive Deviance

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