Changing Norms: A Meta-Analytic Integration of Research on Social Norms Appeals

Abstract

Social norm appeals attempt to change behavior by modifying the prevailing view that a particular, usually harmful, behavior is less prevalent or less approved of in certain social contexts. These messages have been widely used, such as in safe-drinking campaigns targeted towards college students, but reviews of such efforts have been mixed. The present review used meta-analytic techniques to clarify the effects of social norm manipulations by synthesizing findings from 110 articles. We found consistent support for the effectiveness of social norm manipulations across various outcomes, although effect sizes overall tended to be small. There was also evidence that injunctive norms, though underutilized, may be more effective in changing behavior than previously considered. Moderator analyses demonstrated effects for methodological, sample, and message variables that offer insights into how norms function. The analysis also revealed significant heterogeneity, which underscores the need for more standardization in this area.

Leveraging Social Science to Generate Lasting Engagement with Climate Change Solutions

“…Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the behavioral science literature have repeatedly shown that social norms are among the most powerful interventions for encouraging pro-environmental behaviors. 8,12,[104][105][106][107][108] Although interventions that use social norms are generally effective, treatment effects are heterogeneous, and therefore it is important to consider important details, such as the type of norm, who is communicating it, how they are communicating it, and in what context.…”

How to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in Educational Settings: Behavior Change, Climate Surveys, and Effective Pro-Diversity Initiatives

“…Interventions that utilize messages about descriptive social norms have been used for many years and have been proven successful in a variety of areas (e.g., energy conservation, binge drinking among college students; Frey and Rogers, 2014;Lewis and Neighbors, 2006;Miller and Prentice, 2016). Such interventions influence behavior by changing or correcting individuals' perceptions of their peers' behavior, which is particularly powerful because people rely on each other and their environment for guidance on how to behave (Rhodes et al, 2020).…”

“…Using the steps to designing successful behavior interventions described earlier, these authors identified the target behavior (inclusive classroom behavior), target audience (White university students), barriers (perceptions of peer inclusive behaviors and lack of motivation to behave inclusively) and benefits (importance of working and communicating well with a diverse group of people for others and oneself) to design a theoretically informed intervention strategy: a one-page document to be included in course syllabi. The document included not only social norms messaging about students' inclusive behaviors (descriptive norms), but also statements by the university leadership endorsing diversity (highlighting injunctive norms, Rhodes et al, 2020), a short text about the benefits of learning to behave inclusively (inspired by utility value interventions; Harackiewicz et al, 2016) and concrete behavioral recommendations (inspired by SMART goals; Wade, 2009). This approach of applying multiple theories in an intervention creates "theoretical synergy," which refers to the situation where the elements of a multifaceted intervention mutually reinforce each other and thus become particularly effective (Paluck et al, 2021).…”

Perceptions, relationships, expectations, and challenges: Views of communication and research for scientific dissemination in Brazilian Federal Institutes

“…The institutional environment also does not focus on stimulating and promoting science communication activities carried out with diligence and priority by the communicators or their researchers. In this context, the institutionalization process in this field is established with the creation of norms that may, in a certain way, provoke a change of internal behavior in the organization [ 13 ]. The articulation and carrying out of debates and actions for scientific dissemination along with communication campaigns may contribute to this process of behavioral change and the creation of a culture of science communication, stimulating the creation of identity among groups and expectations of benefits, and personal and professional satisfaction [ 14 ].…”