Dynamic Norms Promote Sustainable Behavior, Even if It Is Counternormative

Sparkman, Gregg; Walton, Gregory M.

doi:10.1177/0956797617719950

Cited by 420 publications

(435 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Another way to leverage the impact of norms falls under the general category of 'nudges' 56,57 , which influence behaviour through modification of choice architecture (i.e., the contexts in which people make decisions). Because people are highly reactive to the choices made by others, especially trusted others, an understanding of social norms that are seen as new or emerging can have a positive impact on behavior 58 . For instance, a message with compelling social norms might say, 'the overwhelming majority of people in your community believe that everyone should stay home' .…”

Section: Social Norms People's Behaviour Is Influenced By Social Normsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response

et al. 2020

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Section: Social Norms People's Behaviour Is Influenced By Social Normsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response

et al. 2020

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“…Researchers have also encouraged adoption of the Mediterranean diet for its health benefits (Leblanc et al 2015) since this diet has been shown to have a lower carbon footprint than typical western diets (van Dooren et al 2014). Other studies have found that participants who received statements of dynamic norms (namely that a growing fraction of the population have begun to eat less meat) were more likely to purchase meatless lunches than participants in a static norm or a control group (Sparkman and Walton 2017).…”

Section: Dietmentioning

confidence: 98%

Measuring what works: quantifying greenhouse gas emission reductions of behavioural interventions to reduce driving, meat consumption, and household energy use

Wynes

Nicholas

Zhao

et al. 2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Interventions that promote pro-environmental behaviours are increasingly necessary in reducing use of high-emissions goods and services to meet international climate change targets. Here we assess the greenhouse gas emissions reductions associated with behavioural interventions in three high-emitting domains (personal vehicle use, meat consumption, and household energy use) based on an analysis of the peer-reviewed literature. We examined 40 studies from 1991-2018 involving 886 576 subjects. We found that some of the most robust interventions shown to reduce emissions were financial incentives for personal vehicles, defaults for reduced meat consumption, and feedback for home energy use. We estimate mean annual reductions of 571 kgCO 2 e per vehicle driver for reduced vehicle use, 51 kgCO 2 e per individual for reduced meat consumption, and 149 kgCO 2 e per household for reduced energy use. Despite substantial attention to behavioural interventions in the literature, we find that few studies are suitable for quantifying emissions reductions (N=6 for diet, N=5 for personal vehicles) and few (N=3) are conducted outside OECD countries. Due to this imbalance in the literature, we focus our findings on western economies. We find substantial variation in the emission reductions achieved with different interventions within each domain; interventions in diet ranged from reductions of 231 kgCO 2 e to increases of 116 kgCO 2 e per person per year (both statistically significant). Further, emissions reductions are sensitive to external factors, such as the emissions intensity of the electrical grid, which may change over time. Key gaps in the literature include a lack of studies conducted using randomized controlled trials or follow-ups, and in high-impact areas for emissions reductions including air travel. We highlight promising areas of intervention, such as habit changes to promote mode shifts in personal transportation, which would benefit from an analysis of greenhouse gas emissions reductions in future research.

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“…). More recently, it has also been found that dynamic norms, which are norms describing how a behaviour of a group is changing over time, might also be effective in encouraging behaviour that is contrary to a current norm (Sparkman & Walton ).…”

Section: Types Of Social Norm Messaging and Food Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…'Most people try to eat five servings of fruit and vegetables a day') rather than the number of people who actually succeed (Croker et al 2009). More recently, it has also been found that dynamic norms, which are norms describing how a behaviour of a group is changing over time, might also be effective in encouraging behaviour that is contrary to a current norm (Sparkman & Walton 2017).…”

Section: Types Of Social Norm Messaging and Food Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using social norms to encourage healthier eating

et al. 2019

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What and how much people choose to eat is influenced by social context. People tend to use the eating habits of others as a guide to appropriate consumption. This suggests that one way of encouraging healthier eating would be to provide information about the healthy eating choices of others. Research conducted as part of an Economic and Social Research Council‐funded project investigated the effect of providing information about how others eat on the purchase and consumption of vegetables in both laboratory and in field settings (restaurants). In a laboratory‐based study, we found that that while overall vegetable intake was not increased, exposure to a novel ‘liking norm’ message increased the selection and intake of broccoli from a buffet by participants who were low habitual consumers of vegetables. We also found that the liking norm increased broccoli intake even when there was a delay between exposure to the message and selection at the buffet, suggesting that the effects of social message exposure may persist beyond initial exposure. In two online studies and a laboratory study, we found that the effect of exposure to a descriptive social norm message on eating intentions and intake was moderated by the participants’ motivation to identify with the norm referent group. In three intervention studies, exposure to social norm messaging was associated with increased purchases of meals with vegetables in restaurant settings. Taken together, these results suggest that it is feasible to use social norm messages in restaurant settings and they provide information that could be used to implement randomised controlled trials.

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Dynamic Norms Promote Sustainable Behavior, Even if It Is Counternormative

Cited by 420 publications

References 22 publications

Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response

Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response

Measuring what works: quantifying greenhouse gas emission reductions of behavioural interventions to reduce driving, meat consumption, and household energy use

Using social norms to encourage healthier eating

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