“Meat” Me in the Middle: The Potential of a Social Norm Feedback Intervention in the Context of Meat Consumption – A Conceptual Replication

Abstract

ABSTRACT Meat consumption has detrimental environmental effects. Research shows that social norms are important when it comes to meat consumption. However, social norm interventions have shown mixed effects regarding their effectiveness for decreasing meat consumption. Therefore, an experiment was conducted (n = 279) with a 2 (baseline meat consumption: above- vs. below-average) x 3 (social norm feedback: descriptive norm only, descriptive plus injunctive norm, no feedback) x 3 (time: T0 [baseline], T1 [+1 week from baseline], T2 [+2 weeks from baseline]) mixed-factorial design. Results showed that reported changes in meat consumption at T1 and T2 relative to T0 were not different after receiving social norm feedback (i.e. descriptive norm only or descriptive plus injunctive norm) compared to receiving no feedback. Irrespective of the social norm feedback condition, participants reporting above-average meat consumption at baseline reduced their consumption, whereas those reporting below-average meat consumption at baseline increased their consumption over time. A plausible explanation for these findings may be statistical regression to the mean. Further understanding is needed of how social norm interventions may be used to reduce meat consumption.