Normative Messages Research Articles

An Application of Psychological Reactance Theory to College Student Voter Registration and Mobilization

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to test political engagement messages (voter registration and voter mobilization) effectiveness with younger adults using psychological reactance theory as a guiding framework. Two online survey experiments using a 2 (message frame: gain- vs. loss-frame) X 2 (social norm: positive vs. negative) factorial design found that in the context of voter registration, consistent with prior research, both a loss-framed message and a positive norm message elicited greater freedom threat and reactance. However, these findings were not replicated in the context of voter mobilization. Across both topics, the arousal of reactance was associated with diminished behavioral intention (either for registering to vote or for voting). While the social norms approach has been found effective in mobilization campaigns, findings from this study demonstrate that an implicit threat to one’s freedom (in the form of a positive social norms message) can elicit reactance among non-registered voters. This research suggests that political marketers should be aware of the potential for reactance to messages promoting voter registration among non-registered voters and be aware of potential backlash effects of loss-framed and positive norm-based messages in voter registration communication.

Collective Narratives of the Kfarsghabi Diasporic Community: An Important Tool to Reinstate Group Solidarity, Ethnic Identity and Societal Acceptance

This paper explores the significance of collective narratives for a particular diasporic community. The analysis demonstrates that addressing narratives is important not only to ensure understanding between old and new members, but also to expand societal acceptance and provide adequate formal assistance to sub-ethnic communities. The Kfarsghab community, whose members identify with a Maronite village in the Wadi Qadisha (Holy Valley) in Lebanon, is a suitable case study, especially due to the high commitment of certain members who disseminate information and stories. I analyzed digital platforms, searched in archives, and conducted qualitative interviews with community members in five countries. Using a qualitative content analysis, I inductively generated categories to examine why certain members are particularly dedicated to (re)producing collective narratives as well as to understand the core themes and morals of stories. The analysis illustrates why members act as community librarians, storytellers, external messengers, and social reporters to share myth and legends that have different effects: Narratives about group solidarity convey implicit imperatives that secure the existence and transformation of a community. The normative messages enable a mutual understanding and foster everyday support among long-term and potential new members. Stories that highlight the ethnic identity ensure differentiation from other sub-ethnic groups and strengthen the cohesion among members with hybrid identities. Hereby, members preserve the remembrance of a common origin as a central identity element even if the actual descent is not decisive for membership. Other narratives emphasize societal inclusion by portraying successful members as role models. Overall, collective narratives prevent the disintegration of diasporic communities with the potential to counter negative stereotypes attributed to ethnic groups perceived as an entity. Diasporic communities should be acknowledged as a stabilizing element of societies, as they promote social recognition of members and function as a counterbalance to experienced racial discrimination.

Exploring the Use of “Nudges” to Improve HIV and Other Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing Among Men Who Have Sex with Men

Behavioral economics and its applied branch “nudging” can improve individual choices in various health care settings. However, there is a paucity of research using nudges to improve regular testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The study examined which reminder system and message type men who have sex with men (MSM) preferred to remind them to undergo regular 3-monthly HIV and STI testing. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted among MSM attending a sexual health clinic in Melbourne, Australia between 13 January and 5 March 2020, exploring the preferred method of reminder and framing of the message. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. A total of 309 responses were received. The majority of the participants (90%) preferred short messaging service (SMS) as the reminder method for HIV/STI testing compared to other types (e.g., email or instant messaging). More than a third of the participants (45%) showed a preference for a neutrally framed reminder message (Your next check-up is now due. Please phone for an appointment), while one-third (35%) preferred a personalized message (Hi [first name], you are due for your next check-up. Please phone for an appointment). Younger men were more likely to favor positive framed messages than older men who favored neutrally framed messages (p < .01). SMS was the preferred reminder method for regular HIV/STI testing. Reminder messages that were neutrally framed, personalized or positive framed messages were preferred over negative or social norm messages.

Are you prepared for the next storm? Developing social norms messages to motivate community members to perform disaster risk mitigation behaviors.

Preparing for natural disasters and adapting to climate change can save lives. Yet, minimal research has examined how governments can motivate community members to prepare for disasters (e.g., purchasing flood insurance or installing water barriers in homes for floods and hurricanes). Instead, studies have focused on how to communicate actions individuals should take during disasters, rather than before disasters. This study develops messages targeting social norms, which are promising approaches to motivate community members to adopt disaster risk preparedness and mitigation behaviors. Specifically, we developed a variety of messages integrating descriptive norms (i.e., what others do), injunctive norms (i.e., what others believe should be done), and a social norms-based fear appeal, or social disapproval rationale (i.e., a negative social result of [not] taking behaviors). Then, we tested these messages through two between-subject factorial online experiments in flood- and hurricane-prone U.S. states with adult samples (N=2,286). In experiment 1 (i.e., purchasing flood insurance), the injunctive norms message using weather forecasters and the social disapproval rationale message significantly increased social norms perceptions, which in turn influenced behavioral intentions. In experiment 2 (i.e., installing water barriers), the injunctive norms message using weather forecasters, the injunctive norms message using neighbors, and the social disapproval rationale message significantly increased social norms perceptions, which in turn influenced mitigation intentions. However, the descriptive social norms message was not effective in increasing social norms perceptions. We provide some of the first empirical evidence on how organizations' risk communication can empower community members to prepare and mitigate the impact of disasters.

A Social Norms and Identity Approach to Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Intake of Undergraduate Students in the United Kingdom.

This study investigated the influence of descriptive norm messages that either communicated that university students eat a sufficient amount of fruit and vegetable (F&V) or that they do not, on F&V consumption, and whether or not any effects are moderated by student identification. An online 2 (Norm: “Sufficient”/“Insufficient”) × 2 (Identification: “Low”/“High”) experimental design was employed. Infographics containing “sufficient”/“insufficient” F&V intake descriptive norms were presented. An identification manipulation was employed to create “high”/“low” student identifiers. F&V intake intentions were assessed after the manipulations; self-reported F&V intake was reported at 2 days post-intervention. Undergraduate students in the United Kingdom (N = 180) reported their intake intentions, of which 112 (62%) completed the behavioral follow-up. Participants were predominantly white female students from Scottish universities, mean age 20.4 (±1.6) years. Baseline mean F&V consumption was high (4.5 ± 2.8). There were no significant main effects of Norm or Identification manipulations on F&V intentions and intake. Significant norm × identification interactions were revealed for fruit intake intentions and vegetable intake at follow-up, indicating half-portion differences (~40 g) between groups. Ironic effects were observed for “high” identifiers, who neither intended to, nor acted in accordance with group norms; “low” student identifiers intended to and followed group norms, whereby the “sufficient”/“low” group intended to consume significantly more fruit portions and consumed more vegetables than the “insufficient”/“low” group. Given the half-portion differences between groups resulting from the norm × identification interactions, future research on a larger sample of young adults with low F&V intake is warranted to further explore the conditions under which moderating effects of identification are observed and the underlying mechanisms.

Adding Dynamic Norm to Environmental Information in Messages Promoting the Reduction of Meat Consumption

ABSTRACT Research has shown that dynamic norm information can promote pro-environmental actions (i.e. information indicating that a growing number of people are behaving pro-environmentally). Yet, the question remains whether adding dynamic norm information would increase the effectiveness of information on the environmental consequences of behavior. We compared the effects of environmental information with versus without dynamic norm information on encouraging reductions in meat consumption, and whether effects would depend on receivers’ intrinsic motivation. We also explored whether message effectiveness would vary according to receivers’ intrinsic motivation to reduce meat consumption. In total 197 volunteers participated in a one-month messaging intervention through a chatbot. Results showed that both environmental and environmental + dynamic norm messages increased positive attitude towards reducing meat consumption, and decreased meat consumption. These effects were still present at follow-up (i.e. one month after the intervention stopped). Interestingly, both messages particularly persuaded receivers with a relatively weak intrinsic motivation to reduce meat consumption, while environmental only messages were even counterproductive in receivers with a relatively strong intrinsic motivation. These results advance our comprehension of the effects of messages aimed at reducing meat consumption.

Do honesty‐nudges really work? A large‐scale field experiment in an insurance context

AbstractBusinesses want their customers to self‐report information honestly. One increasingly popular way to stimulate desired behavior is by using nudge interventions. But can customers be nudged to self‐report information more honestly? This is currently a debate in the literature, where empirical results are inconclusive. Building on related literature on nudges, we add to this debate with a controlled field experiment (N = 5704). We used data from actual customers making real decisions when they file claims online to a large Nordic insurance provider. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the effects of honesty‐nudges on self‐reported information when filing insurance claims using a controlled field experiment. We designed and tested three honesty‐nudges on insurance customers: (1) signing‐at‐the‐beginning, (2) a descriptive social norm message, and (3) a solidarity message. Across five outcome measures, we found that the honesty‐nudges, standalone or in any possible combination, do not have significant effects in reducing indicators of insurance claims fraud. But interestingly, customers in all treatment groups used significantly more characters to describe losses than customers in the control group. Also, in post hoc analyses, we found signs that the direction of nudge effects varies across customers' age and customer loyalty.

The Effect of Nudging in Promoting the Consumption of Organic Fruits and Vegetables.

A field study collecting behavioral data was conducted to investigate effects of behavioral interventions, commonly known as nudges, in promoting the consumption of organic fruits and vegetables. Consumption, both organically and conventionally produced fruits and vegetables, was measured in a grocery store during 4 days (1 day every other week) where consumers were exposed to informational messages in combination with either emotional images or social norm messages. Measurements of daily consumption without exposure to nudges were carried out during four other days (1 day every other week, alternated with the nudging days). The results showed no effect of the nudging strategy; instead, it pointed to the importance of the price as a determinant of buying decisions. Buying ecological alternatives was associated with lower price differences between the ecological and non-ecological alternatives. We conclude that combined nudges and collected psychological data from participants may contribute to more successful nudging interventions. Some political measures in balancing the price difference between organically and conventionally produced products might also be interesting strategies in order to promote the consumption of organic fruits and vegetables.

Encouraging COVID-19 vaccination through behaviorally informed reminders: Results from a national randomized field experiment in Israel

Inducing people to get vaccinated is critical for controlling the spread of COVID-19. We explored the effectiveness of two text messaging strategies for encouraging unvaccinated individuals to get their COVID-19 vaccination. One message emphasized social norms to harness people's tendency to act in ways that line up with society's expectations. The other message underscored the personal medical benefits of vaccination. Both messages indicated that the vaccine was reserved for the recipient at a nearby location. Over the course of eight days, the percentage of people who got vaccinated after receiving the medical benefit message was 2.1% higher than the percentage of people who got vaccinated after receiving the social norm message ( p &lt; .001). Our findings indicate that designing vaccination reminders that highlight the medical benefits of vaccination in addition to the availability of the vaccines can increase vaccination rates.

To move or not to move while on campus: Examining the influence of others

Objective To examine the influence of dynamic and trending descriptive norms on increasing physical activity and decreasing the sedentary behaviors of university students while on campus. Participants One-hundred fifty-six university students from a Canadian university completed this study. Methods Participants were randomly assigned to receive one of four online messages containing normative information about the on-campus behavior of university students. On-campus physical activity and sedentary behavior were measured pre- and post-message. Results The results revealed that students exposed to the trending norm reported a greater decrease in sedentary behavior than students in the control condition, p = .007. Conclusion Results provide preliminary experimental evidence that trending norm messages may serve to decrease the sedentary behavior of students while on campus.

Factors that differentiate COVID-19 vaccine intentions among Indiana parents: Implications for targeted vaccine promotion

Given low rates of uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine for children 12–17 and 5–11 years old, research is needed to understand parental behaviors and behavioral intentions related to COVID-19 vaccination for their children. In the state of Indiana, we conducted a non-random, online survey of parents or caregivers (N = 10,266) about their COVID-19 vaccine intentions or behaviors, demographic characteristics, and potential motivating reasons for getting the vaccine. In terms of behaviors/intentions, 44.8% of participants indicated they were vaccine acceptors (i.e., had already had their children vaccinated or would as soon as it was possible), 13.0% indicated they were vaccine hesitators (i.e., wanted to wait and see), and 42.2% indicated they were vaccine rejecters (i.e., would not vaccinate or only would if mandated). Compared to vaccine rejecters, vaccine hesitators were more likely to be motivated by perceptions of vaccine safety and efficacy, normative influences such as close friends/family who had been vaccinated and a recommendation from a provider, as well as if they were vaccinated themselves. These findings have implications for the development of targeted vaccine promotion strategies, such as social norms messaging and a focus on vaccine safety, in order to increase COVID-19 vaccination for eligible children.

Double trouble: Concurrently targeting water and electricity using normative messages in the Middle East

Personalised normative messages have been shown to be effective at encouraging both electricity and separately water savings. As use of this approach to promote resource savings becomes increasingly widespread, an important question is whether providing such feedback on consumption of the two resources together can yield reductions in both areas. In a field experiment with over 200,000 households in the Middle East, we send households personalised normative messages regarding both their water and electricity consumption on a monthly basis. This intervention saw a statistically significant reduction of around 1.2% for electricity but not for water consumption. Furthermore, we test different ways of concurrently presenting normative messages of both water and energy, including presenting it as a combined eco score. Local treatment effects of these were around 1.2% reduction. Our findings contribute towards nexus thinking around how (not) to concurrently achieve energy and water savings using normative feedback.

Does the EU message impact public attitudes toward the death penalty in EU membership-aspiring countries? Lessons from Albania

ABSTRACT The dominant knowledge in the extant literature is that citizens in EU member countries are not receptive toward the EU message, but rather perceive it from a domestic politics perspective. However, recent research has shown that people in EU membership-aspiring countries from Southeastern Europe might not be as intransigent toward the EU message. What that literature has not highlighted thus far is the type of EU message. Whereas EU normative messages might hold sway among people’s normative attitudes, they might not affect their policy preferences. We argue that citizens are receptive to the EU’s support of death penalty abolition and tend to adjust their normative views about the death penalty accordingly. In an original experimental survey conducted in Albania, we find that respondents who received an EU framing of the death penalty exhibited lower levels of personal support for the death penalty. However, we did not find evidence that this result holds in regards to levels of support for the reinstatement of the death penalty, which remained similar among respondents who received and did not receive the EU framing.

Bandwagoning, free-riding and heterogeneity in influenza vaccine decisions: An online experiment.

‘Nudge’‐based social norms messages conveying high population influenza vaccination coverage levels can encourage vaccination due to bandwagoning effects but also discourage vaccination due to free‐riding effects on low risk of infection, making their impact on vaccination uptake ambiguous. We develop a theoretical framework to capture heterogeneity around vaccination behaviors, and empirically measure the causal effects of different messages about vaccination coverage rates on four self‐reported and behavioral vaccination intention measures. In an online experiment, N = 1365 UK adults are randomly assigned to one of seven treatment groups with different messages about their social environment's coverage rate (varied between 10% and 95%), or a control group with no message. We find that treated groups have significantly greater vaccination intention than the control. Treatment effects increase with the coverage rate up to a 75% level, consistent with a bandwagoning effect. For coverage rates above 75%, the treatment effects, albeit still positive, stop increasing and remain flat (or even decline). Our results suggest that, at higher coverage rates, free‐riding behavior may partially crowd out bandwagoning effects of coverage rate messages. We also find significant heterogeneity of these effects depending on the individual perceptions of risks of infection and of the coverage rates.

Dynamic norms for dynamic times? An experiment on the effects of dynamic and static norms messages on COVID-19 vaccination intention

Social norms messages may motivate COVID-19 preventive behaviors, such as getting vaccinated. To date, however, the research has mainly focused on the established concept of static norms and widely ignored the potential of dynamic norms. Dynamic norms convey information about how norms are developing over time and have been shown to promote change when the behavior is not yet the majority norm. The present study investigated the potential of dynamic norms in the context of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. It examined (a) the effects of static and dynamic norms messages on vaccination intention, (b) the mechanisms through which dynamic norms may influence vaccination intention, and (c) the potential of dynamic norms to increase vaccination intention of vaccine-hesitant people. We conducted a preregistered online experiment with three conditions (static norm, dynamic norm, control message) among people who were not yet vaccinated (N = 2,289, 16-60 years) in May 2021, during the early vaccine roll-out period for the general population in Switzerland. We found no effects of exposure to the static or dynamic norms messages on vaccination intention and no specific influence mechanisms of dynamic norms (e.g., via perceived future norm) - neither for participants who were willing to get vaccinated nor for the vaccine-hesitant group. However, further analyses showed that, among vaccine-hesitant participants, the normative perception that formerly vaccine-critical people were changing their minds was correlated with a stronger vaccination intention. We discuss potential reasons why social norms messages did not show an effect in our study and derive theoretical and practical implications.

Making Food Waste Socially Unacceptable: What Behavioral Science Tells Us About Shifting Social Norms to Reduce Household Food Waste

This working paper summarizes the methodology and results from two original randomized controlled trials that reached more than 40 million consumers in order to assess the impact of social norms messaging on consumers’ knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors around food waste. It finds that making food waste socially unacceptable through the right type of messaging can elevate the importance of this issue in consumers’ lives. While social norms messages, by themselves, are not a panacea for eliminating consumer food waste, they can contribute to significant reductions in waste when included in multicomponent interventions. The paper provides 10 insights that can be incorporated into campaigns led by nongovernmental organizations, local and national governments, and businesses aiming to help reduce household food waste.

Promoting six-month exclusive breastfeeding: an examination of social norms messaging and outcome expectations

ABSTRACT Breast milk and breastfeeding bring considerable benefits to infants. A caveat in breastfeeding promotion efforts is the lack of emphasis on exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first six months of a baby’s life. This research examined the relative effectiveness of descriptive and injunctive messaging on promoting 6-month EBF by employing a 3 (norms: descriptive norms vs. injunctive norms vs. no norms) X 2 (positive outcome recipient: baby vs. mother) factorial design and tested hypotheses with expecting women. Participants showed strong intention to exclusively breastfeed across experimental conditions. The results revealed that the descriptive normative message was more effective in promoting EBF than the control condition, whereas the injunctive normative message had no advantage over the control condition. Moreover, perceived outcome expectations for the baby and the mother attenuated the relationship between perceived descriptive norms and EBF intention. Theoretical and practical implications regarding how norms messaging can promote EBF are discussed.

The effectiveness and efficiency of using normative messages to reduce waste: A real world experiment.

Although they are only home to 16% of the global human population, high-income countries produce approximately one third of the world's waste, the majority of which goes to landfills. To reduce pressure on landfills and natural systems, environmental messaging should focus on reducing consumption. Messages that signal social norms have the potential to influence people to reduce their consumption of comfort goods, such as straws, which are not a necessity for most people. We conducted a randomized field-experiment at a marine park in Portugal to test whether different normative messages reduced visitors' paper straw use when compared to non-normative messages. We found that a message framed around a positive injunctive norm significantly reduced straw use compared to a non-normative message. We estimated that using the message at 17 park concession stands could keep over 27500 straws out of landfills annually and save the park money after two years.

How preexisting beliefs and message involvement drive charitable donations: an integrated model

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how individuals respond to messages asking for donations in broadcast advertising. It does so by considering both preexisting attitudes and beliefs related to donating, as well as message processing. The goal is to uncover messages that may help nonprofit organisations increase donations.Design/methodology/approachThe research combines the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to measure preexisting beliefs and the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) to measure involvement in an investigation of donation responses to broadcast-quality advertisements developed by a professional ad agency featuring the following two messages: one that leverages social norms and another that legitimises minimal giving. Two studies collected data from a total of 544 respondents in two between-subjects 2 × 2 × 2 experiments.FindingsInjunctive norm messages affect the intended donation behaviour of individuals who are pre-disposed to donating, but only if they are highly involved with the ad. Social legitimisation messages affect donations from individuals who look to referents to direct behaviour, but unlike what was expected, only by those not highly involved with the ad. Similarly, individuals who do not think they can donate increased donations when they saw the legitimisation message and had low advertisement involvement.Research limitations/implicationsResults extend the ELM-TPB integrated framework by discovering when and how involvement drives intended donation behaviour. The research also sheds light on message processing by focussing on the preexisting characteristics of recipients.Practical implicationsThe results provide nonprofit managers with strategies to increase donations with targeted messages. Those who pay attention to the ad and have a positive attitude toward giving are going to donate if they are told others support the cause. Therefore, the focus should be on those who are not involved with the ad but still believe giving is appropriate.Originality/valueThis research is the first to use the ELM-TPB framework to discover that ELM has varying utilities and values from TPB in different ad contexts.

Encouraging Parental Sexual Communication with Teen Sons: A Social Norms Experiment

ABSTRACT Parent-child sexual communication is associated with myriad positive sex-related outcomes for young people, but these conversations tend to be infrequent and limited in scope. Using the Social Norms Approach, we hypothesized that learning that other parents talk with their children about sex-related topics would motivate parents to talk about more sex-related topics with their son. In an online experiment, parents in the United States (N = 378) with a son aged 13–16 were asked how many of 30 sex-related topics they had discussed with their son after exposure to one of the two SNA messages or a control. A 30-day follow-up study repeated these questions. The experiment revealed no significant differences between the three conditions, but all three conditions resulted in greater intentions to discuss more topics with their son in the future. Regardless of condition, parents who identify their sons as gay or bisexual talked about more sex-related topics than parents of sons who identify their sons as straight. The results from this study suggest that social norms messages are not more effective at increasing parents’ communication intentions. Parents in all conditions planned to discuss more sex-related topics with their son, suggesting that simply bringing these topics to parents’ attention may be enough to increase intentions to have these conversations. Findings are discussed in light of motivating and equipping parents to handle these conversations and tailoring educational materials for parents based on their child’s sexual and romantic orientation.