Effects Of Social Norms Research Articles

Corrigendum to The Moderating Effects of Social Norms on Premerger Overspending: Results from a Survey Experiment

Corrigendum to The Moderating Effects of Social Norms on Premerger Overspending: Results from a Survey Experiment

Food choice motives and dining-out leftover prevention behavior: Integrated perspectives of planned behavior and norm activation

To help solve the global food waste crisis, this study focuses on the mechanism of food choice motives and dining-out leftover prevention behavior. Based on theory of planned behavior and norm activation theory, this study presents a research model with food choice motives, intention to avoid food waste, social norm, and dining-out leftover prevention behavior. A total of 978 valid survey responses were gathered from restaurant customers in Taiwan. Analytical results show that food choice motives are positively related to intention to avoid food waste, and intention to avoid food waste is positively related to dining-out leftover prevention behavior. Furthermore, intention to avoid food waste mediates the relationships between food choice motives and dining-out leftover prevention behavior. This study also finds significant moderating effects of social norm on the effects of price sensitivity and ethical concern on intention to avoid food waste.

Individual and Situational Factors Influencing Active Behavior in Professional Video Conferences With Strangers

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of video conferences in professional settings increased rapidly. Here, we examine how individual and situational characteristics jointly predict active behavior in video conferences (i.e., activating one’s webcam, small talk, contacting other attendees) between strangers. We focus on external networking as well as proactive and reactive online networking and social anxiety as individual characteristics and investigate how these interact with social norms (operationalized as proportion of other attendees using the webcam), in predicting our outcome variable active video conference behavior. An online vignette experiment with three conditions (social norms: 25 vs. 75% of other attendees using the webcam vs. offline) was conducted to analyze the self-reported likelihood of active video conference versus active offline behavior. Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Results indicate that external networking is a positive and social anxiety a negative predictor of self-reported active video conference behavior. Furthermore, the likelihood of engaging in active (video conference) behavior differed between the three scenarios, with highest values in the offline scenario and lowest in the online scenario with only 25% of other attendees using the webcam. However, no interaction effects of social norms with social anxiety were found. Overall, the findings suggest that individual differences in networking tendencies and social anxiety and social norms influence active behavior in video conferences independently.

An analysis of the effect of social norms on payment of speeding fines

ABSTRACT Fines are the most common form of formal speed limit enforcement applied in jurisdictions across the world. From a deterrence perspective, fines deter speeding through high risk of detection and swift enforcement of financial penalties. Yet, evidence on factors associated with fine payment compliance is limited. In this study, we consider the extent to which elements of deterrence and social behavioural norms influence the dynamics of speeding fine payment. We merge lifetime driving and fine payment records from over 10,000 drivers who received a speeding infringement notice during a one-week period in 2017 across communities in Queensland, Australia with community level socio-demographic data. We combine these data with our indicator of community level fine payment norms; the proportion of residents with an outstanding fine debt and conduct survival analysis to estimate the impact of social norms on days taken to pay speeding fines after controlling for community wealth and driving history. We find that individuals living in communities where a greater proportion of residents have outstanding fine debt take longer to pay fines after controlling for community disadvantage and social disorganisation. Our findings support the social norms perspective that speeding fine compliance is enhanced by normative community behaviours.

Is there a Social Impact Paradox in Cross-Channel Communication? A Management Perspective

Customers use multiple channels to inform themselves about products and services before making a buying decision. As companies provide information on their owned platforms, their customers experience a multi-channel journey on their way to the company website. While companies try to nudge potential customers into consuming provided information, potential effects of previous customers experiences (such as social media browsing) on the effect of digital nudges (i.e. social norms) and the perception of such guidance are not thoroughly investigated yet. First studies imply that customers react differently to nudges depending on their previous channel experience. This paper contributes by focusing on digital nudging during the pre-purchase phase of the customer journey. The potential effect of social norm nudges on information search intentions and the influence of previous social media usage are investigated. Two online experiments examined previous social media usage as a potential moderator of the social norms nudge efficacy as well as the influence of previous social media usage on the perception of social norms nudges. Results show that previous social media usage influences perception as well as the efficacy of a social norms nudge on a company website in certain circumstances. Although social norms do not always significantly affect user behavior, users that consumed social media before seeing a social norms nudge, have an altered perception of these nudges. Choice architects implementing digital nudges are challenged to carefully consider such effects when applying nudges on their user interfaces.

Perception of strong social norms during the COVID-19 pandemic is linked to positive psychological outcomes

Social norms can coordinate individuals and groups during collective threats. Pandemic-related social norms (e.g., wearing masks, social distancing) emerged to curb the spread of COVID-19. However, little is known about the psychological consequences of the emerging norms. We conducted three experiments cross-culturally, during the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic in China (Study 1), the recovery period in China (Study 2), and the severe period in the United States and Canada (Study 3). Across the three studies, we first distinguished the opposite effects of social norms and risk perception on individuals’ psychological characteristics during the COVID-19 pandemic and further revealed that individuals who perceived stronger pandemic norms reported a lower level of COVID-19 risk perception, which in turn would be associated with fewer negative emotions, lower pressure, more positive emotions, higher levels of trusts, and more confidence in fighting against COVID-19. Our findings show that perceived tighter social norms are linked to beneficial psychological outcomes. This research helps governments, institutions, and individuals understand the mechanism and benefits of social norms during the pandemic, thereby facilitating policy formulation and better responses to social crises.

Behaviourally informed, patient-led interventions to reduce missed appointments in general practice: a 12-month implementation study.

Scalable, positive, behaviourally informed interventions may help people remember to attend their primary care appointment or cancel in good time, but have not yet been implemented long term. To examine effects of social norms and making active commitments on missed and cancelled appointments in primary care over 12 months and explore implementation factors. A mixed-methods design evaluation and implementation study led by a Patient Participation Group (PPG) member in a large GP practice in the West Midlands. Following a 6-month baseline, waiting room notices were redesigned to emphasise positive social norms for desired behaviours. When booking appointments, receptionists were trained to invite patients to (i) verbally actively commit to cancelling if needed; (ii) write down their own appointment details. Monthly missed appointments (MAs) and cancellations were statistically compared with baseline averages and seasonally equivalent months. To explore implementation, reception staff completed a knowledge, attitude, and behaviour questionnaire at 9 months, analysed descriptively. Study team field notes were thematically analysed. Across 12 intervention months there was a mean of 37.67 fewer MAs per month (20% reduction) and 102.66 more cancellations (21.07% increase) compared with 6-month baseline means [MAs t(11) = -6.15, P < 0.001; cancellations t(11) = 3.637, P = 0.004] with statistically significant differences in seasonally equivalent months [MAs t(5) = -4.65, P = 0.006; cancellations t(5) = 3.263, P = 0.022]. Receptionists (n = 12) reported implementing the strategies except when facing pressures; knowledge and attitudes varied. Behaviourally informed interventions reduced primary care MAs longer term; PPGs and practice teams can work together on quality improvement projects with support from leaders to prioritise and embed new practices.

An investigation of coupled natural human systems using a two-way coupled agent-based modeling framework

Improving the understanding of coupled natural human systems (CNHS) can better inform environmental policymaking. We investigated the co-evolution (i.e., bidirectional interactions) issues in CNHS via two-way coupling RiverWare (RW; a river-reservoir routing model) with agent-based models (ABMs, human decision models) in the Yakima River Basin in Washington, US. Results show that coupled models can better capture the historical irrigation diversion (human) and streamflow (nature) dynamics. We further demonstrated the effect of social norms (i.e., the influence of neighbors) among farmers and tested a “water reallocation” scenario to evaluate the influence of water policies on irrigation diversion behaviors. Detailed model structure and parameter uncertainty analysis are suggested to further quantify the benefit of CNHS models in multi-level water resources governance.

Nutritional status and body image perception in a group of Moroccan adolescents

BACKGROUND: Adolescent obesity has become a pressing public health issue in Morocco. Along with the increased prevalence of obesity, body weight misperceptions have also increased among adolescents, which may reduce the effectiveness of intervention programs. The main study objective was to establish the relationship between body image perception, anthropometric status and their associated factors among a sample of Moroccan adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional school-based survey was conducted during 2018, involving 250 adolescents from Morocco. Data on sociodemographic information, anthropometric characteristics, and weight perception were collected and reported as the means and proportions. Statistical analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 19.0 software. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight and obesity in our study reached 12.8% and 4.8%, respectively. Misperception of body weight compared to body mass index (BMI) was found in 50.4% of young adolescents (χ2 = 54.05; p &lt; 0.001), and dissatisfaction computed by the Feel minus Ideal Discrepancy (FID) index reached 46% with no difference between the sexes (χ2 = 2.55; p &gt; 0.05). The Feel weight status minus Actual weight status Inconsistency (FAI) index was used to determine whether the subjects’ perception of their weight was realistic. The results showed that both sexes tended to underestimate their weight. Only 68.2% of overweight/obese participants reported trying to lose weight (χ2 = 39.74; p &lt; 0.001), while this number increased to 94.7% when the intention to lose weight was related to perceived body image (χ2 = 86.09; p &lt; 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study reveal that a mismatch exists between the perception of body weight and actual BMI in adolescents, with a tendency toward underestimation, affirming the early effect of social norms and the vulnerability to sociocultural influences of individuals in this age category. Future interventions and educational programs are thus required to prevent overweight and obesity and to address the mismatch between adolescents’ weight status and their perceived weight.

The nudging effect of social norms on drivers’ yielding behaviour when turning corners

Drivers who do not give way to pedestrians are among the main causes of traffic crashes of motor vehicles and pedestrians in China. There is an urgent need to explore effective methods for improving drivers' yielding behaviour. This study used eight kinds of social norm slogans to nudge drivers’ yielding behaviour and explored the influence of pedestrian characteristics and situational factors on drivers’ decision-making regarding giving way when turning right. By analysing 254 valid questionnaires, it was found that compared with static norms, injunctive norms and dynamic + static norms, positively worded dynamic norms have a better nudging effect on drivers' yielding behaviour. The results of the conjoint analysis showed that social norms have the greatest impact on drivers' decisions to yield (32.28%), followed by whether pedestrians comply with traffic rules (23.33%) and the age of pedestrians (18.40%). This study expands the application of social norms and provides a new perspective to promote positive behaviour among drivers.

Social capital as a double-edged sword for sustained poverty escapes in Ethiopia

What enables social capital to contribute to sustained poverty escapes, and what could compensate for the negative effects of adverse social norms that inhibit pathways out of poverty? This paper seeks to answer these questions in Ethiopia by analysing three rounds of the Ethiopian Socioeconomic Survey (2011/12, 2013/14, and 2015/16) alongside fieldwork in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, and SNNPR comprising focus group discussions, life history interviews, and key informant interviews. The study finds that families able to sustain poverty escapes typically possess a combination of material wealth, human, political and social capital, all underpinned by an enabling environment marked by factors including an evolving education system and pro-poor political settlement. Better-off households are then able to draw on social capital during shocks that could otherwise precipitate declines in wellbeing.However, the social events which sustain social capital can be a double-edged sword. Families may spend much on weddings, funerals, children’s christenings and birthdays, and inaugurations of newly houses. Reciprocity is expected when organizing these feasts, which poor families find difficult to maintain. Accordingly, some take credit and become indebted, others sell livestock and limit their ability to cope with shocks, and some young people are also forced to migrate to generate income to settle family debt. Based on these findings, policy suggestions are offered, such as through promoting public discussion of migration risks and mitigation of these risks, group-based insurance to help support costs for feasts, and expanding the scope of PSNP transfers to recognize the importance of idiosyncratic shocks.

The Moderating Effects of Social Norms on Pre-merger Overspending: Results from a Survey Experiment

The proposition that amalgamation reforms lead to a common-pool problem is strongly supported; governments are incentivized to overspend before the merger is implemented. However, existing literature helps little in understanding why some governments do not overspend in the pre-merger period, and why hoarders do not overspend more than they do. One explanation hitherto overlooked is the moderating effect of social norms. Two hypotheses regarding the importance of social norms are tested with data from a survey experiment conducted on over 3,000 Norwegian local elected officials. The analysis supports both: Support for hoarding is lower when hoarding is debt-financed than when financed by savings. Support for hoarding is also lower when others in the amalgamation are anticipated not to hoard than when they are. That pre-merger hoarding varies with different levels of social obligations vis-à-vis the amalgamation has implications for common-pool theory and for reformers of the structure of government.

Descriptive social norms and resource cues influence choice by additive and separate effects

Descriptive social norms have attracted much attention in social influence research. Regarding consumer choice, it is however unclear if, and to what extent, the influence of social norms is related to resource-state information. In two experiments, including 384 and 724 participants, respectively, we assess the unique and combined effects of these influences on both choice and preferences. Results showed consistent effects of descriptive social norms, influencing both choice and preferences across the two experiments. When a resource cue was provided in Experiment 1, a small non-significant difference compared to the control condition indicated that information about resource states might affect choice. This effect was replicated with statistical significance in Experiment 2. No effect of such a cue was detected on preferences in either experiment. Present results suggest that the effects of descriptive social norms and resource cues are independent and additive.

Investigating webrooming behavior: a case of Indian luxury consumers

PurposeThe purpose of the current study is to examine why luxury consumers webroom. The study further examines the intervening effects of social norms, age, and gender.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional data from 374 Indian luxury consumers was collected using questionnaire surveys. Confirmatory factor analysis, covariance-based structural equation modeling and PROCESS macro were used to analyze the data.FindingsFindings suggest that perceived usefulness of searching online, sales-staff assistance, socialization, and need for touch have significant positive effect on attitude toward webrooming. The moderation effect findings suggest that subjective norm significantly moderates the association between attitude toward webrooming and webrooming intention.Practical implicationsPractically, the findings are likely to aid luxury marketers in designing effective channel strategies to maximize their reach via both offline and online channel.Originality/valueThis study provides several contributions to the luxury marketing and retailing literature by examining luxury consumers' webrooming intention.

The Effect of Social and Personal Norm on Intention to Patronize Green Hotels: Extension of Theory of Planned Behavior

ABSTRACT Despite most previous studies investigated the relationship between consumers’ attitude and behavior gap by adopting the theory of planned behavior (TPB). However, patronizing green hotels is still considered to be one of the most persistent challenges in behavioral transformation agenda. This paper aims to contribute to the TPB by investigating the role of personal norm (PN) in explaining consumers’ intention to patronize green hotels. This study also argues that consumers’ social norms (SN) can influence their attitudes, perceived behavioral control (PBC) and PN toward intention, and attitude can influence their PBC. A total of 399 valid questionnaires were collected to empirically test the generated hypotheses using SPSS and AMOS. The findings indicated that SN positively influenced PN, attitude, PBC and intention, respectively. PN, attitude, and PBC were shown to positively influence intention. Furthermore, PN shown a mediating effect on the relationship between SN and intention, attitude displayed a mediating effect on the relationship between SN and intention, and PBC mediated the relationship between attitude and intention. This study expanded the TPB which incorporated PN as an antecedent to provide a better understanding on consumers’ intention to patronize green hotels. The theoretical contributions, practical implications and limitation are discussed accordingly. 社会规范和个人规范对消费者光顾绿色酒店意愿的影响:计划行为理论的延伸

Youth and Multiplayer Mobile Games Adoption

The rapidly growing technology has created new form of gaming platform for youth. The online gaming industry is revolutionised with the emergence of information technology and advanced graphical engines. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Individual gratifications, Novelty Seeking and social norms on the attitude and intention to play multiplayer mobile games adoption among youth. Structure equation modelling (SEM) technique was utilised to examine the effect of various antecedents with the help of data from 280 respondents. The findings of the study suggest that there is a significant impact of social interaction and novelty seeking on the user’s intention to play online multiplayer games. The research findings will be beneficial for the marketing practitioners and game designers to incorporate social aspects and novel graphics to enhance the marketability of the game. Further this study contributes to the literature of human- game- technology interaction and widens the scope for further research to explore other dimensions in game adoption.

Ethnic Diversity, Social Norms and Elite Capture: Theory and Evidence from Indonesia

Elite capture is a natural concern regarding decentralization. We highlight the effects of ethnic diversity and social norms on the extent of such capture. Ethnic diversity, through differences in the preference for public goods, facilitates capture. However, this may be counteracted by social norms that promote cooperative behaviour within communities. We test these theoretical predictions using community‐level data from the 1997 and 2007 Indonesian Family Life Survey rounds, with fiscal decentralization being implemented in between. We exploit a particular institutional feature of Indonesian communities—namely, the observance of traditional ‘Adat’ laws to proxy coordination across ethnic groups. Overall, we find that ethnic diversity depresses community‐level development spending after decentralization, particularly where Adat laws (which promote an ethic of mutual cooperation) are not followed. The opposite is observed for spending on non‐developmental items.

Effects of social and personal norms, and connectedness to nature, on pro-environmental behavior: A study of Western Australian protected area visitors

Pro-environmental behaviors play a key role in the management and sustainability of parks and protected areas. An understanding of the antecedents of visitors' pro-environmental behaviors is vitally important in advancing knowledge, encouraging sustainability, and bettering management practice. This study developed and tested a behavioral model which integrated personal norms and social norms as normative influences, with connectedness to nature as a personality trait, as antecedents of pro-environmental behaviors. Data were collected through a visitor survey across three protected areas in Western Australia and analyzed via structural equation modelling. Results indicated that personal norms and connectedness to nature had a positive effect on pro-environmental behaviors, whereas social norms did not. The results highlight to protected area managers the need to consider moral obligations and personal identification with nature to foster on-site pro-environmental behaviors and encourage a positive spill-over effect off-site.

Home-based work or non-home-based work? Factors influencing work choices of women in the informal sector

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to determine the factors influencing the job choices of Indian women working in the informal manufacturing sector. The informal sector has always played a significant role in emerging and developing countries. This study investigates the effect of social cultural norms influencing women informal workers in the manufacturing sector to participate in home-based work (HBW) or non-home-based work (non-HBW) .Design/methodology/approachBoth Quantitative and Qualitative methodology have been used. In accordance with descriptive statistics, a multinomial logistic regression model was employed to assess women's likelihood of participation in home-based activities. To gain a more in-depth insight, semi-structured interviews were used to collect the perspectives of both men and women workers. The data were analysed using narrative analysis.FindingsThe findings reveal that a high fixed cost is a key driver of HBW. Workers prefer to work from home when the loss of joint household production due to working outside is substantial. Social and cultural standards play a significant effect in job selection for women. These conventions limit women's employment options, and the current study demonstrates that strong social and cultural standards limit women to home-based jobs only.Social implicationsEnhancing women's involvement in the public realm is critical and may be accomplished by affirmative action; but, for women to be treated equally in their homes and in society, an attitude shift is necessary. Despite the government's initiatives and regulations aimed at protecting informal women workers, many of the programmes and legislation fall short. The position of women in this environment cannot be improved until and unless the norms of society are flexible and liberal for Indian women. The first step would be to educate people and make them aware of the need to abandon outdated practices and embrace new progressive ideals. It will not be achievable just via government efforts; rather, both the government and society must work together to achieve the same goal.Originality/valueThe author hereby declares that this submission is their own work and to the best of their knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. The author would like to undertake the above-mentioned manuscript has not been published elsewhere or under editorial review for publication elsewhere; and that all co-authors have agreed to have seen and approved the manuscript for submission.

Mechanisms of Perceived Social Norms: The Mediating and Moderating Role of Morality and Outcome Expectations on Prescription Drug Misuse in the Working Population

ABSTRACT While the nonmedical use of prescription drugs to enhance cognitive performance (NMUPD-CE) has received increasing media attention and provoked ethical debates, the social drivers of misusing this health-related drug remain understudied. Therefore, this study examined how descriptive and injunctive norms as social influences affect decisions to engage in NMUPD-CE. We tested competing assumptions about whether moral acceptability and positive and negative outcome expectations mediate or moderate the social norms effects. We used data from a Germany-wide, web-based survey with a sample of adult nonusers who were recruited offline (N= 13,443). We found that 62.09% of the respondents indicated at least some willingness for NMUPD-CE. Positive associations occurred between this willingness and both social norms, high positive and low negative outcome expectations, as well as higher moral acceptability. Moral acceptability and positive outcome expectations partially mediated both social norm effects, while negative outcome expectations only partially mediated injunctive norms. Moreover, positive and negative outcome expectations also moderated both social norm effects. This study provides insights into the understanding of social influence in the context of substance misuse and beyond. It suggests that social norms operate via moral acceptability and outcome expectations, while outcome expectations also lead to differential effects of social norms.