This article identifies four factors for consideration in norms‐based research to enhance the predictive ability of theoretical models. First, it makes the distinction between perceived and collective norms and between descriptive and injunctive norms. Second, the article addresses the role of important moderators in the relationship between descriptive norms and behaviors, including outcome expectations, group identity, and ego involvement. Third, it discusses the role of both interpersonal and mass communication in normative influences. Lastly, it outlines behavioral attributes that determine susceptibility to normative influences, including behavioral ambiguity and the public or private nature of the behavior.

Design The e-surveys of the present study were aimed to collect data from young adult college students. The surveys were administered at baseline, post-test (after game play), 10-day follow-up, and 20-day follow-up. Development and Pre-testing All the surveys were designed using SurveyMonkey [1]. The measures were chosen based on previous research in risk communication and game play for persuasion [2-7]. The surveys were also pre-tested for usability and technical functionality during the pilot study [5]. During the pilot study, participants were encouraged to ask questions concerning the surveys and report any concerns to the research team. The short scale of perceived threat from virtual cancer cells was found to be too brief, and as a result, it was improved in the current trial by including additional items that tap on threat perception. Forest-Boucher, Brunet, and Fredette [2] as well as Novak and Hoffman [7] have tested the validity and reliability of perceived skills in game play and perceived challenge during game play (Cronbach's alphas between 0.87 and 0.94). Factor analysis showed separate factors for the concepts and predictive validity indicated that such concepts predict the experience of flow during game play (i.e., balance between difficulty of game and ability to overcome challenge in the game) [2, 7]. Rapee and colleagues [4] tested the validity and reliability of perceived control over stress (Cronbach's alpha=0.89). Kraft and colleagues [6] tested the validity and reliability of a measure for perceived control over the game (Cronbach's alpha=0.77). The pilot study [5] reiterated the validity and reliability of these four measures in the context of the video game "Re-Mission". Factor analysis indicated separate factors for such measures and they correlated with perceived difficulty of the game. The pilot study also indicated good internal reliability of the measures: perceived skills in game play (Cronbach's alpha=0.90), perceived challenge (Cronbach's alpha=0.93), perceived control over stress (Cronbach's alpha=0.90), and perceived control over the game (Cronbach's alpha=0.96). Perceived severity of cancer has been tested by Rimal and Real [3], and perceived susceptibility to cancer has been adapted from the work of Rimal and Real [3]. In addition, the pilot study has shown the validity and reliability of the two scales in measuring perceived susceptibility and severity (Cronbach's alphas between 0.79 and 0.91). During the pilot study, validity indicated that perceived threat from cancer cells predicted perceived susceptibility to cancer (=0.37, p<0.05) and perceived severity (=0.32, β β p<0.05). Finally, information seeking behavior (ISB) is a measure adapted from the information seeking measure of Rimal and Real [3]. It taps on respondents' general information-seeking tendency. During the pilot study, the 2-item scale showed internal consistency with a significant correlation between the two items (r=0.85, p<0.0001) and a Cronbach's alpha of 0.91. Also, during the pilot study, predictive va...

Although a number of studies demonstrate the impact of perceived norms on human behavior, we know little about how this relation works. Extant normsbased campaigns to reduce alcohol consumption among U.S. college students fail to distinguish between descriptive and injunctive norms. In this article, we make this distinction, and we develop a model of normative influences that also includes the impact of group identity and communication patterns on students' alcohol consumption. Based on a survey of college students (N = 353), we found that descriptive and injunctive norms were different in terms of their impact on behavior. Furthermore, the inclusion of group identity and communication patterns significantly added to the explanatory power of our model. Overall, we were able to explain roughly 53% of the variance in consumption.

Normative restructuring strategies currently under way to combat alcohol-related problems among U.S. college students are based on the idea that students harbor inflated perceptions about the prevalence of drinking on campus and that if these misperceptions can be corrected, then alcohol consumption will decrease. Evidence for the effectiveness of these strategies is lacking, and there is little discussion in the literature about how or why people’s normative beliefs exert influence on their behaviors. The theory of normative social behavior that is proposed in this article includes three mechanisms—injunctive norms, outcome expectations, and group identity—that are hypothesized to moderate the influence of descriptive norms on behavior. This theory is tested through a survey (N = 1,352) conducted among incoming college students. Although all normative mechanisms predicted behavioral intention, four of the six variables also interacted with descriptive norms to influence intention, with relatively smaller effects. Overall, the model was able to predict 63% of the variance in intention to consume alcohol. Implications for health campaigns are discussed.

We revisit some ideas from our previous article on social norms by conceptualizing norms as dynamic entities that both affect and are affected by human action; elaborating on the distinction between collective and perceived norms; summarizing key findings from studies that have adopted the theory of normative social behavior (TNSB) and thereby proposing guidelines for further expanding the purview of the TNSB; discussing the attribute-centered approach as a framework for focusing on behavioral characteristics; and highlighting areas for further inquiry into social norms.

Evidence of a direct correlation between risk perception and self-protective behavior is ambiguous at best. Witte's (1992Witte's ( , 1994) extended parallel process model (EPPM) explains many contradictory findings by pointing out the moderating role played by efficacy beliefs. Working from the EPPM, this article introduces the risk perception attitude (RPA) framework that categorizes individuals into one of four attitudinal groups: responsive (high risk, high efficacy), avoidance (high risk, low efficacy), proactive (low risk, high efficacy), and indifference (low risk, low efficacy). We conducted two studies to test our hypotheses that these groups differ in their self-protective motivation, intention to seek information, behavioral intention, knowledge acquisition, and time spent seeking information. Results, though not entirely consistent, suggest that, when risk and efficacy are made salient (Study 1), people's risk perception guides most of their subsequent actions, but in a natural context (Study 2), risk and efficacy jointly affect subsequent action.

Informed by the theory of normative social behavior, this article sought to determine the underlying mediating and moderating factors in the relationship between descriptive norms and behavioral intentions. Furthermore, the theory was extended by asking whether and what role behavioral identity played in normative influences. Simulating the central message of norms-based interventions to reduce college students' alcohol consumption, in this field experiment, descriptive norms were manipulated by informing half of the students (n = 665) that their peers consumed less alcohol than they might believe. Others (n = 672) were not provided any norms information. students' injunctive norms, outcome expectations, group identity, behavioral identity, and behavioral intention surrounding alcohol consumption were then measured. Exposure to the low-norms information resulted in a significant drop in estimates of the prevalence of consumption. Injunctive norms and outcome expectations partially mediated and also moderated the relationship between descriptive norms and behavioral intentions. Group identity and behavioral identity also moderated the relationship between descriptive norms and behavioral intentions, but the effect size was relatively small for group identity. Implications for health campaigns are also discussed.

Peer communication represents 1 mechanism through which norms are disseminated in social groups. The theory of normative social behavior (TNSB) posits that group identity, outcome expectations, and injunctive norms moderate the relation between descriptive norms and behaviors. This article extends the purview of the TNSB by conceptualizing peer communication as another moderator in the relationship between descriptive norms and behaviors. A survey was conducted among college students (N = 675) to measure their normative perceptions, peer communication, alcohol consumption, alcohol-related consequences, and intention to drink alcohol. As hypothesized, descriptive norms, peer communication, and the interaction between these two variables were significantly associated with consumption, even after controlling for known predictors of both consumption and various mechanisms of normative influences. Controlling for prior consumption, peer communication was also a significant predictor of intention to consume alcohol in the future. This model explained approximately 63% of the variance in intention. This study found a significant relationship between peer communication and alcohol drinking behaviors and intentions after controlling for perceived norms.