“We Drink, Therefore We Are”

Abstract

We consider how ingroup norms, identification and individual attitudes interact when a behaviour (heavy alcohol consumption) is defining of an ingroup identity. We sampled 115 students at a UK university, measuring ingroup identification and attitudes to heavy drinking before manipulating the ingroup drinking norm (moderate vs. heavy). Heavy drinking intentions and tendencies to socially include/exclude two target students—one of whom drank alcohol regularly and one of whom did not—were measured. As predicted, participants with a positive attitude to heavy drinking and who identified strongly with the ingroup reported stronger intentions to drink heavily when the ingroup had a moderate, rather than a heavy drinking norm, indicating resistance to the normative information. A complementary pattern emerged for the social inclusion/exclusion measures. Implications for theory and interventions that focus on group norms are discussed.