The relationship between social identity, descriptive social norms and eating intentions and behaviors

Abstract

Social factors, particularly social norms, have been reported to influence eating behaviors. From the perspective of Social Identity Theory, a strong association between a person and the norm referent group is key to the effectiveness of descriptive social norms on behavior. The general aim of the studies presented in this paper was to examine the effects of descriptive social norm based messages on eating intentions and behaviors, and whether social identity moderates these effects. Study 1 and Study 2 examined whether the effect of a descriptive social norm message promoting vegetable intake (or limiting junk food intake) was moderated by the extent to which participants identified with the norm referent group. We found that centrality of social identification with the norm referent group moderated the effect of descriptive social norm messages on intentions to eat vegetables and intentions to limit junk food intake. Study 3 built on those findings by examining whether priming social identity enhanced the effects of a descriptive social norm message on actual food intake in a laboratory setting. We found that intake of fruit and vegetables was enhanced after exposure to a descriptive social norm message (versus a health message) but this effect was only significant for participants whose identification with the norm referent group had been primed. Taken together, these data add to the suggestion that acting in line with group norms is more likely when individuals regard their membership of the group as being important to their identity.

Corporate social responsibility in international hotel chains and its effects on local employees: Scale development and empirical testing in China

“…The results relating to the main effect of perceived CSR of international hotels suggest that employees feel more positive about their hotel in accordance with the theory of social identity (Liu, Thomas, & Higgs, 2019) and, thus, tend to have greater job satisfaction, commitment to their organization, and engagement in their work when they positively perceive their company's engagement in socially responsible activities. Moreover, they are more willing to exhibit organizational citizenship behavior, such as self-enhancement in their work quality, assisting colleagues with their assignments, voicing their views, and making constructive recommendations for new proposals or changes (Farh et al, 1997;Raub, 2008).…”

Using social norms to encourage healthier eating

“…A laboratory‐based study built on those findings by examining whether priming the social identity enhanced the effects of a descriptive social norm message on actual food intake in a laboratory setting. We found that intake of fruit and vegetables was enhanced after exposure to a descriptive social norm message (vs. a health message), but this effect was only significant for participants whose identification with the norm referent group had been primed (Liu et al . in press).…”

“…Pilot studies might establish the most appropriate norm referent group based on assessment of centrality of identification with the norm [based on the results of Liu et al . (in press)] and incorporate some priming of social identity to enhance effectiveness of the norm messaging. The development of social norm‐based interventions would also benefit from greater understanding of how and why they are effective in real‐world settings so that this information might be used to refine the intervention.…”

All by myself? Testing descriptive social norm-nudges to increase flood preparedness among homeowners

“…Contributing to the literature on the transparency of nudges (Bruns et al, 2018), this study tests whether transparently showing the full distribution of choices by previous respondents (i.e., providing the exact percentage of those who chose each option) is more effective than summarizing these choices as a binary message. Furthermore, we measure several individual characteristics that previous research has identified as influencing the effectiveness of social norm messages, such as identification with the reference network (Liu et al, 2019), political identities (Chang et al, 2019), and a concern for social comparison (Buunk & Gibbons, 2006;Garcia et al, 2013). An additional possible moderator of norm-nudge messages is the extent to which people perceive their relationships with others, which can be measured on a scale ranging from individualist (people conceptualize themselves as individuals) to collectivist (people conceptualize themselves as members of a group) (Triandis, 1989).…”