Jessica M. Nolan

The Constructive, Destructive, and Reconstructive Power of Social Norms

Despite a long tradition of effectiveness in laboratory tests, normative messages have had mixed success in changing behavior in field contexts, with some studies showing boomerang effects. To test a theoretical account of this inconsistency, we conducted a field experiment in which normative messages were used to promote household energy conservation. As predicted, a descriptive normative message detailing average neighborhood usage produced either desirable energy savings or the undesirable boomerang effect, depending on whether households were already consuming at a low or high rate. Also as predicted, adding an injunctive message (conveying social approval or disapproval) eliminated the boomerang effect. The results offer an explanation for the mixed success of persuasive appeals based on social norms and suggest how such appeals should be properly crafted.

Normative Social Influence is Underdetected

The present research investigated the persuasive impact and detectability of normative social influence. The first study surveyed 810 Californians about energy conservation and found that descriptive normative beliefs were more predictive of behavior than were other relevant beliefs, even though respondents rated such norms as least important in their conservation decisions. Study 2, a field experiment, showed that normative social influence produced the greatest change in behavior compared to information highlighting other reasons to conserve, even though respondents rated the normative information as least motivating. Results show that normative messages can be a powerful lever of persuasion but that their influence is underdetected.

“An Inconvenient Truth” Increases Knowledge, Concern, and Willingness to Reduce Greenhouse Gases:

Since May 24, 2006 millions of people have seen the movie “An Inconvenient Truth.” Several countries have even proposed using the film as an educational tool in school classrooms. However, it is not yet clear that the movie accomplishes its apparent goals of increasing knowledge and concern, and motivating people to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Two studies are reported, one with a sample of community moviegoers, and one with a sample of students. Across the two studies, results show that watching “An Inconvenient Truth” does increase knowledge about the causes of global warming, concern for the environment, and willingness to reduce greenhouse gases. However, the results of Study 2 suggest that willingness to take action immediately following movie viewing does not necessarily translate into action 1 month later. Recommendations are made for how the movie could be used to create behavioral change.

Normative messages promoting energy conservation will be underestimated by experts … unless you show them the data

Social influence researchers have identified normative social influence as an effective behavioral strategy for addressing global climate change. However, strategies alone are useless if they are not adopted by energy outreach and education experts. In the present study we were interested in understanding and changing energy experts’ perceptions of normative messages compared to other motivational messages. In Study 1 a sample of energy experts was asked to evaluate the motivating potential of five conservation messages used in previous research. Results showed that energy experts perceived the financial appeal to conservation to be the most motivating, while the normative message was judged to be less motivating. In addition, energy experts said they would be least likely to use the normative message in their future outreach and education programs. In Study 2 participants were exposed to empirical research highlighting the effectiveness of normative appeals. Results showed that this exposure did increase confidence in normative messages, but did not necessarily decrease confidence in financial appeals. These results are discussed in the context of the persuasion knowledge model (Friestad & Wright, 1994) and the call to “give psychology away.”

Natural Connections Bees Sting and Snakes Bite, But They Are Still Nature

Three studies are reported that examine the effects of valence on connectedness with nature. In Study 1, results showed that the implicit association test (IAT) effect is robust to the valence of the stimuli. Participants showed stronger self-nature than self-built associations, regardless of whether the stimuli were positively or negatively valenced. Study 2 further tested that the positive IAT effect is due to the valence of the stimuli and showed an equally large IAT effect and a strong positive correlation between the positively and negatively valenced IAT stimuli. In Study 3, we address potential confounding effects of valence with a newly matched set of stimuli. Results were consistent with our prior findings in showing that valence of the stimuli did not affect the IAT scores. We conclude that while there are individual differences in connectedness with nature, such beliefs are not affected by positive or negative aspects of natural or built environments.

The cognitive ripple of social norms communications

Social norms marketing has become a widely used technique for promoting pro-social behaviors, however, little is known about the cognitive changes produced by these interventions. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the extent and durability of changes in normative beliefs following a one-shot social norms communication. Participants were surveyed immediately following the intervention, one week later, and one month later. Results showed that (1) normative beliefs spilled over to behaviors and referents not specified in the original message; (2) communication and self-knowledge both contributed to participants’ normative belief estimates; and (3) the change in normative beliefs over the one-month period was consistent with Miller and Prentice’s (1996) theory of normative belief construction. Possible explanations for the spillover effect are discussed.

Using Jackson’s Return Potential Model to Explore the Normativeness of Recycling

In this article, a novel theoretical model, Jackson’s Return Potential Model (RPM), is applied to examine social norms for recycling. Unlike other theoretical models that emphasize the causal relationship between norms and behavior, Jackson’s RPM provides a conceptual model for thinking about the “normativeness” of recycling and other pro-environmental behaviors. Convenience samples of recycling experts and university students were surveyed about their approval and disapproval for different levels of recycling. The results showed that both students and experts approved of high levels of recycling and disapproved of low levels of recycling. However, for partial-recycling (the descriptively normative level of recycling among students and most Americans), the social climate was one of indifference. It is argued that the lack of disapproval for partial-recycling may partly explain the gap between real and ideal recycling rates. The practical utility of Jackson’s RPM and the implications of the results for recycling outreach and education are discussed.

Environmental Policies Can Buttress Conservation Norms

ABSTRACT In an attempt to solve large-scale environmental problems, government agencies often resort to formal sanctioning systems: market-based incentives or command-and-control regulations, to promote cooperation. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the presence of these formal sanctioning systems impacts informal sanctioning systems for environmental protection. Study 1 used an experimental game to explore the influence of market-based and regulatory programs on informal sanctioning in a laboratory setting. Study 2 was a quasi-experimental field survey that compared informal sanctioning among Massachusetts residents living in towns with voluntary, mandatory, and pay-as-you-throw recycling programs. Results showed that in the presence of a formal sanctioning system, individuals felt guiltier for not engaging in the cooperative behavior and expressed more disapproval for non-cooperators. Combined, these results show that environmental policies can buttress conservation norms.

The Constructive, Destructive, and Reconstructive Power of Social Norms: Reprise:

The influence of social norms on behavior has been a longstanding storyline within social psychology. Our 2007 Psychological Science publication presented a new rendition of this classic telling. The reported field experiment showed that social norms could be leveraged to promote residential energy conservation, but importantly, the descriptive norm was shown to increase consumption for low-consuming households. This potential destructive effect of social norms was eliminated with the addition of an injunctive message of social approval for using less energy. The article is among the 30 most-cited articles across all APS publications, which we attribute to our methodology, which measured real behavior in a large-scale field experiment and to several circumstances associated with the timing of the work. The article coincided with the explosion of social media, the emergence of behavioral economics, and a heightened level of concern about climate change. These contemporaneous activities set the stage for our work and for its high degree of citation.