Being there with others: How people make environments norm‐relevant

Abstract

In two studies we show that people make environments norm-relevant and this increases the likelihood that environments influence norm-relevant judgments. When people see environments without having people on their mind, this effect does not occur. Specifically, when exposed to an environment (a library), people's perceived importance of environment-relevant norms (be silent in libraries) increases, when the concept of 'people' is primed compared to when this is not the case. The impact on normative judgments of priming significant others (Study 1) is stronger than priming people in general (Study 2). Additional effects on conformism and public self-consciousness are discussed, as well as implications for future studies.

Divergent effects of activating thoughts of God on self-regulation.

“…Bering (2006) has argued that even invisible agents like Santa Claus can serve as "witnesses" to behavior that may enable children to resist temptations. Adults are also less likely to succumb to selfish impulses when primed with the concept of other people (e.g., Stapel, Joly, & Lindenberg, 2010) or made to think of the ghost of a deceased person (e.g., Bering, McLeod, & Shackelford, 2005), and they are less likely to steal when exposed to the image of a pair of eyes (Bateson, Nettle, & Roberts, 2006). …”

The Norm-Activating Power of Celebrity

“…For example, as already mentioned, the psychological presence of significant others (like parents) activates the willingness to conform to norms in general (Stapel et al 2010). The sheer presence of people has a norm-activating effect (Joly, Stapel, and Lindenberg 2008) so that empty streets, parking garages, hotel corridors, etc., are environments that dampen norm activation and thus increase the risk of norm violations.…”

“…But some people are special. Stapel, Joly, and Lindenberg (2010) showed that people who are considered special can activate the oughtness of norms more than people in general. Celebrities in good standing generally have prestige, and we know from many studies that prestige makes people special, gives them extra significance, and thereby increases the weight of their opinions.…”

“…Norms that individuals hold need to be activated in order to influence behavior (Cialdini, Kallgren, and Reno 1991). We know from prior research that significant others can activate norms better than people like you and me (''generalized others''; see Stapel, Joly, and Lindenberg 2010). Celebrities are potentially significant others for their audience and thus potentially also very influential.…”

“…In short, fans can be influenced by celebrities if they identify with them. However, there is also evidence that in addition to this type of ''hot'' effect involving identification, there may also exist a ''cool'' effect of celebrity, one that does not relate to changes in attitudes and behavior but to something less dramatic and more basic for day-to-day behavior for a much larger group than the fans: the activation of mental constructs, which prominently includes the activation of goals and norms (see Kruglanski et al 2002;Stapel et al 2010). Why is it so important to pay close attention to this process of activation?…”