scholarly journals A Social Norms Intervention Going Wrong: Boomerang Effects from Descriptive Norms Information

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Richter ◽  
John Thøgersen ◽  
Christian Klöckner
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Food Group ◽  
Descriptive Norm ◽  
Environmental Behaviour ◽  
Boomerang Effect ◽  
Sustainable Seafood ◽  
Boomerang Effects ◽  
Food Pictures

A large body of research supports the idea of social norms communication promoting pro-social and pro-environmental behaviour. This paper investigates social norms communication in the field. Signs prompting consumers about sustainable seafood labels and informing them about other consumers’ sustainable choices were displayed in supermarkets in Norway and Germany. Seafood sales (sustainably labelled versus unlabelled products) were observed before, during, and after the implementation of the signs. The expected change towards more sustainable choices was generally not found. In Norway, the choice of sustainable seafood increased in the prompt-only condition, but the effect was neutralised when social norms information was added. In Germany, social norm messages lead to a decline in sustainable choices compared to baseline, a boomerang effect. Overall, an increase in the purchase of seafood (both sustainably labelled and unlabelled) was noted during the intervention. A second study was carried out to further explore the finding that consumers were mainly primed with “seafood” as a food group. In a laboratory setting, participants were confronted with stereotypical food pictures, combined with short sentences encouraging different consumption patterns. Subsequently, they were asked to choose food products in a virtual shop. Confirming the findings of Study 1, participants chose more of the groceries belonging to the food group they were primed with. These studies suggest that social norms interventions—recently often perceived as “the Holy Grail” for behaviour change—are not as universally applicable as suggested in the literature. According to this study, even descriptive norm messages can produce boomerang effects.

Can Humanism be the Social Norm?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon D. Welch
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Human Reasoning ◽  
Individual Freedom ◽  
Social Divisions ◽  
The Social

Assaults on truth and divisions about the nature of wise governance are not momentary political challenges, unique to particular moments in history. Rather, they demonstrate fundamental weaknesses in human reasoning and core dangers in ways of construing both individual freedom and cohesive communities. It will remain an ongoing challenge to learn to deal rationally with what is an intrinsic irrationality in human cognition and with what is an intrinsic tendency toward domination and violence in human collectivities. In times of intense social divisions, it is vital to consider the ways in which humanism might function as the social norm by, paradoxically, functioning in a way different from other social norms. Humanism is not the declaration that a certain set of values or norms are universally valid. At its best and most creative, humanism is not limited to a particular set of norms, but is, rather, the commitment to a certain process in which norms are continuously created, critically evaluated, implemented, sustained or revised. Humanism is a process of connection, perception, implementation, and critique, and it applies this process as much to itself as to other traditions.

scholarly journals Intentions to Consume Sustainably Produced Fish: The Moderator Effects of Involvement and Environmental Awareness

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 946
Author(s):  
Kåre Skallerud ◽  
John Armbrecht ◽  
Ho Huy Tuu
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Behavioral Control ◽  
Environmental Awareness ◽  
Food Product ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Perceived Behavioral Control ◽  
Product Involvement ◽  
Boomerang Effect ◽  
Positive Effect

The purpose of this study is to apply the conceptual framework of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explain the consumption of sustainable produced fish in Sweden. We seek to understand the moderating role of food product involvement and environmental awareness as extensions of traditional constructs such as attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control. The data were derived from a representative sample of 1974 Swedish consumers. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the relationships between constructs and evaluate the reliability and the validity of the constructs. Attitudes had a significantly positive effect on intention to consume fish in general and sustainably produced fish in particular. Social norms had significantly positive effect on intention to consume fish in general, but no effect on intention to consume sustainably produced fish. Behavioral control had no effect on behavioral intention. Interestingly, involvement negatively moderated the effect of attitudes on both intention to consume more fish and to consume more sustainably produced fish. Environmental awareness also negatively moderated the effect of attitudes on intention to consume more sustainably produced fish. It seems that attempts to create food product involvement and environmental awareness among consumers may have the opposite effect—a boomerang effect—than what conventional wisdom and much of the research on fish consumption indicates. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

The role of social norms in the relationship between anti-smoking advertising campaigns and smoking cessation: a scoping review

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-194
Author(s):  
Joanne Dono ◽  
Caroline Miller ◽  
Kerry Ettridge ◽  
Carlene Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Significant Heterogeneity ◽  
Mass Media Campaign ◽  
Media Campaign ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract A systematic scoping review of anti-smoking mass media campaign literature provided opportunity to explore how social normative theories and constructs are used to influence smoking cessation. Synthesis of findings was constrained by significant heterogeneity. Nevertheless, the results indicate that a broader conceptualization of social norm is worthy of further exploration. Perceptions of what others think and do contributed in multiple ways to the relationship between anti-smoking messaging and quitting outcomes. Furthermore, integrating research on social norms, social identity and communication may improve understanding of why quitting intentions are enhanced in some circumstances but reactance and counter-arguing responses corresponding to lower quitting intentions occur in others. Integrating a broader theoretical understanding of normative influences into campaign development and evaluation may prove useful in demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach in behaviour change campaigns.

Parental leave length, social norms, and female labor market re-entry frictions

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 600-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vojtech Bartoš ◽  
Barbara Pertold-Gebicka
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Job Search ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Human Resource Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Job Applicant ◽  
Employment Gaps ◽  
The Difference

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the role of employers in creating employment gaps among women returning to the labor market after parental leaves of different durations. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a controlled correspondence field experiment that orthogonally manipulates parental leave length and the quality of fictitious female job candidates. The experiment is complemented with a survey among human resource managers. Findings High-quality candidates receive more interview invitations when applying after a short parental leave, while low-quality (LQ) candidates receive more interview invitations when applying after a typical three years long parental leave. Survey results suggest that the difference in invitations between short and typical leave treatments is driven by a social norm that mothers should stay home with children younger than three. Productivity gains from employing a LQ job applicant with a shorter career break might not be high enough to outweigh the adverse social norm effect. Social implications The presented results point toward the strong effect of prevailing social norms on job search prospects of women returning to the labor market after parental leave. Originality/value A correspondence experiment has not been used before to study the relationship between time spent on leave and the labor market prospects of mothers. It also extends research on social norms to the domain of hiring decisions.

scholarly journals The Ethics of Stigma in Medical Male Circumcision Initiatives Involving Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Rennie ◽  
Adam Gilbertson ◽  
Denise Hallfors ◽  
Winnie K Luseno
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Male Circumcision ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Human History ◽  
Health Prevention ◽  
Medical Male Circumcision ◽  
Demand Creation ◽  
Ethics Research

Abstract Ongoing global efforts to circumcise adolescent and adult males to reduce their risk of acquiring HIV constitute the largest public health prevention initiative, using surgical means, in human history. Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programs in Africa have significantly altered social norms related to male circumcision among previously non-circumcising groups and groups that have practiced traditional (non-medical) circumcision. One consequence of this change is the stigmatization of males who, for whatever reason, remain uncircumcised. This paper discusses the ethics of stigma with regard to uncircumcised adolescent males in global VMMC programs, particularly in certain recruitment, demand creation and social norm interventions. Grounded in our own experiences gained while conducting HIV-related ethics research with adolescents in Kenya, we argue that use of explicit or implicit stigma to increase the number of VMMC volunteers is unethical from a public health ethics perspective, particularly in campaigns that leverage social norms of masculinity. Ongoing global efforts to circumcise adolescent and adult males to reduce their risk of acquiring HIV constitute the largest public health prevention initiative, using surgical means, in human history. VMMC programs in Africa have significantly altered social norms related to male circumcision among previously non-circumcising groups and groups that have practiced traditional (non-medical) circumcision. One consequence of this change is the stigmatization of males who, for whatever reason, remain uncircumcised. This paper discusses the ethics of stigma with regard to uncircumcised adolescent males in global VMMC programs, particularly in certain recruitment, demand creation and social norm interventions. Grounded in our own experiences gained while conducting HIV-related ethics research with adolescents in Kenya, we argue that use of explicit or implicit stigma to increase the number of VMMC volunteers is unethical from a public health ethics perspective, particularly in campaigns that leverage social norms of masculinity.

Corruption and the criminal law: assurance and deterrence

2021 ◽  
pp. e20210014
Author(s):  
Vincent Chiao
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Ideal Types ◽  
Systemic Corruption ◽  
Substantial Degree

In this article, I consider the degree to which criminal justice interventions may be expected to ameliorate systemic corruption. I distinguish between two ideal types of corrupt actors – conditional cooperators and autonomous defectors – and argue that the prospects of reform through criminal justice is greatly affected by the relative preponderance of each type. When conditional cooperators predominate, the criminal law serves primarily to provide assurance that a perceived social norm is effective, in that the norm is both widely adhered to, and adhered to because people endorse the propriety of that norm. When autonomous defectors predominate, the criminal law serves primarily to deter would-be cheaters by attaching costs, at least in expectation, to cheating. Because patterns of compliance based upon a social norm tend to be self-reinforcing, unlike patterns of compliance motivated by fear of sanction, I argue that the prospects of sustainable reform through criminal justice interventions is likely to depend to a substantial degree upon convincing people to trust social norms rather than rely upon their private judgments of what is in their interest – that is, to become conditional cooperators.

scholarly journals The breakdown of antiracist norms: A natural experiment on hate speech after terrorist attacks

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (37) ◽  
pp. 22800-22804
Author(s):  
Amalia Álvarez-Benjumea ◽  
Fabian Winter
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Descriptive Norm ◽  
Attitudinal Changes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Strong Norm

Terrorist attacks often fuel online hate and increase the expression of xenophobic and antiminority messages. Previous research has focused on the impact of terrorist attacks on prejudiced attitudes toward groups linked to the perpetrators as the cause of this increase. We argue that social norms can contain the expression of prejudice after the attacks. We report the results of a combination of a natural and a laboratory-in-the-field (lab-in-the-field) experiment in which we exploit data collected about the occurrence of two consecutive Islamist terrorist attacks in Germany, the Würzburg and Ansbach attacks, in July 2016. The experiment compares the effect of the terrorist attacks in hate speech toward refugees in contexts where a descriptive norm against the use of hate speech is evidently in place to contexts in which the norm is ambiguous because participants observe antiminority comments. Hate toward refugees, but not toward other minority groups, increased as a result of the attacks only in the absence of a strong norm. These results imply that attitudinal changes due to terrorist attacks are more likely to be voiced if norms erode.

scholarly journals Social Norms and Pro-Environmental Behaviour

2018 ◽  
pp. 179-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kees Keizer ◽  
P. Wesley Schultz
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Environmental Behaviour

scholarly journals SHRIEKING SIRENS: SCHEMATA, SCRIPTS, AND SOCIAL NORMS. HOW CHANGE OCCURS

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Bicchieri ◽  
Peter McNally
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Gender Norms ◽  
Female Genital Cutting ◽  
Spreading Activation ◽  
Open Defecation ◽  
Genital Cutting ◽  
Female Genital

Abstract:This essay investigates the relationships among scripts, schemata, and social norms. The authors examine how social norms are triggered by particular schemata and are grounded in scripts. Just as schemata are embedded in a network, so too are social norms, and they can be primed through spreading activation. Moreover, the expectations that allow a social norm’s existence are inherently grounded in particular scripts and schemata. Using interventions that have targeted gender norms, open defecation, female genital cutting, and other collective issues as examples, the authors argue that ignoring the cognitive underpinnings of a social norm can hamper the effectiveness of behavioral interventions.

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