Saar Mollen

Healthy and unhealthy social norms and food selection : findings from a field-experiment

The behavior of others in peoples social environment (i.e., descriptive norms), as well as their opinions regarding appropriate actions (i.e., injunctive norms) strongly influence peoples decisions and actions. The goal of this study was to extend prior laboratory research on the influence of social norms on food choices, by conducting a field-experiment in an on-campus food court. One of three different messages was posted on a given day: a healthy descriptive norm, healthy injunctive norm, or an unhealthy descriptive norm. Effects of these social norms messages on food choice were compared against each other and a no-message control condition. In total, 687 students reported their food choice through a questionnaire provided to them. Food choices were analyzed for participants who reported being exposed to one of the social norms signs and those in the control condition (N=220). Findings showed that the healthy descriptive norm resulted in more healthy food choices, compared to an unhealthy descriptive norm, as well as the control condition. The difference between the injunctive healthy norm and the control condition was not significant, though those in the injunctive norm condition did make more healthy decisions, than those in the unhealthy descriptive norm condition. Implications with regard to theory and practice are discussed.

What Is Normative in Health Communication Research on Norms? A Review and Recommendations for Future Scholarship

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Intervening or interfering? The influence of injunctive and descriptive norms on intervention behaviours in alcohol consumption contexts

In situations when people have been drinking, they often find it difficult to tell their friends to stop drinking, or not to drive home. Most people want to avoid being seen as a busybody, which may inhibit advice giving. In the current study, we investigated how positive and negative descriptive and injunctive norms (in alcohol consumption contexts) affect people’s motivation to engage in intervening (e.g. ask a friend to stop drinking) and non-intervening (e.g. let friends make their own drinking decisions) behaviours. An online experiment with a four weeks post-test was conducted. Results showed that positive social norms resulted in a higher motivation to engage in intervening behaviour and a lower motivation to engage in non-intervening behaviour, compared to negative social norms. Injunctive, but not descriptive, norms had an effect on intervening behaviour four weeks after the manipulations. In line with prior findings, we also found that injunctive norms, in comparison to descriptive norms, are less amenable to change but that their influence is more enduring. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Current issues and new directions in Psychology and Health: What are the oughts? The adverse effects of using social norms in health communication

We are continuously influenced by other people. We are influenced by what they do, what they say and what they do not say. Other people’s behaviour guides our own actions because it provides social proof regarding what is considered appropriate or inappropriate conduct in a given situation (Cialdini, 1984, chap. 4). Imagine the following: You are at church and the preacher is highly engaged in his sermon. He talks passionately about how the Lord will guide all of us to our destiny, about the sins we may or may not have committed and about how we can pay penance for such sins. He concludes by providing recommendations on how we can follow a path of righteousness (for future reference of course) and then invites all to stand up and sing ‘All for Jesus’. In response, everyone gets up and starts singing passionately while clapping and dancing exuberantly. What would you do? Chances are that you would stand up and sing as well. Soon, you would start clapping your hands and when you look down you will perhaps even find yourself gently shaking your hips to the rhythm of the music. While most European Christians may find this kind of behaviour somewhat inappropriate or at least a little unusual, it is in fact a fairly typical description of a North American gospel church service. If this kind of church service is unfamiliar to you and you found yourself sitting in the church described above, you would most likely let your actions be guided by the actions of those around you. In other words, you would likely conform to the behaviour or the social norm of the group because, in that particular situation, it would appear to be the most adaptive response. Social norms are important predictors of behaviour and their predictive role is the context in which they are generally discussed. However, in this editorial, we will not focus on the predictive role of social norms. Rather, we will discuss why people conform to social norms and then extend this knowledge to the field of health communication and behaviour change. We will elaborate on the advantages and disadvantages of using social norm messages, and then offer alternatives for the use of social norms in health communication messages.

The role of issue familiarity and social norms: findings on new college students’ alcohol use intentions

Background Scholars in a variety of disciplines are interested in understanding the conditions under which social norms affect human behavior. Following the distinction made between descriptive and injunctive norms by the focus theory of normative conduct, the theory of normative social behavior predicts that the influence of descriptive norms on behavior is moderated by injunctive norms, outcome expectations, and group identity. We extended the theory by testing the proposition that the influence of descriptive norms on behavior would be greater under conditions of greater issue familiarity, defined as the ease with which one can cognitively access the behavior or behavioral issue. Design and Methods The model was tested in the domain of alcohol consumption intentions by conducting a survey among incoming students (n=719) to a large university in the United States. Data indicated that students in the sample were well representative of the university population. Results The influence of descriptive norms on behavioral intentions was moderated by issue familiarity, as predicted. Familiarity was a facilitator of behavior: the influence of descriptive norms on behavioral intentions was greater under conditions of high, rather than low, familiarity. The overall model explained 53% of the variance in alcohol consumption intentions. Conclusions Public health interventions promoting health behaviors need to take into account the extent to which the behaviors are familiar to the target audience. The influence of norms appears to be weaker when the behavior is unfamiliar or novel. Implications for theory and interventions for reducing alcohol consumption are discussed.

Short and Sweet: The Persuasive Effects of Message Framing and Temporal Context in Antismoking Warning Labels

Current warning labels on cigarette packages are generally focused on long-term losses that can be incurred if one continues smoking. This study compares the effects of these labels against warning labels that stress short-term losses of smoking as well as labels that stress short- and long-term benefits that can be obtained when one quits smoking. A 2 (message frame: gain vs. loss) × 2 (temporal context: short vs. long term) between-subjects experiment was conducted among 132 smokers, with attitude toward quitting smoking and intention to quit smoking, as well as information-seeking behavior and message recall, as the dependent variables. Findings were in line with theory regarding message framing and temporal discounting, showing enhanced effects of gain over loss frames and short-term over long-term consequences on warning labels for attitudes and intentions. In addition, an interaction between message frame and temporal context was found. Especially, gain-framed messages showed stronger effects on intentions to quit smoking than loss-framed messages when warning labels concerned short-term outcomes. Findings suggest that current warning labels, with an emphasis on long-term negative health outcomes, should be reconsidered.

Effects of Previous Fruit Intake, Descriptive Majority Norms, and Message Framing on Fruit Intake Intentions and Behaviors in Dutch Adults Across a 1-Week Period

OBJECTIVE To test the effects of descriptive norm and message framing on fruit intake (intentions) in Dutch adults. DESIGN Randomized pretest-posttest study using a 2 × 2 design. SETTING Internet-based. PARTICIPANTS Dutch adults recruited via leaflets and announcements on intranet and Internet and who provided immediate intention (n = 294) and 1-week follow-up intention and fruit intake data (n = 177). INTERVENTION Messages combining information on intake of others (low vs high intake) with information about positive or negative outcomes of (in)sufficient fruit intake. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Fruit intake intentions and fruit intake. ANALYSIS Analyses of covariance. RESULTS Those already consuming sufficient fruit and receiving negative information about insufficient fruit intake increased their motivation to consume sufficient fruit immediately (P = .03), but not at 1-week follow-up. Those who read positive information about sufficient fruit intake reported higher fruit consumption than those who read negative information about insufficient fruit intake (P = .03). This was stronger in those already consuming sufficient fruit. There were no effects of descriptive norm information (P > .19). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Information about outcomes was more persuasive than descriptive majority norm information. Effects were generally stronger in those already consuming sufficient fruit.

When the Frame Fits the Social Picture The Effects of Framed Social Norm Messages on Healthy and Unhealthy Food Consumption

We investigated the influence of framed norm messages about food consumption on motivation to consume, and actual consumption of, healthy and unhealthy foods. We proposed that the effects of positive and negative message frames would vary by the type of underlying norms (i.e., injunctive, descriptive). More specifically, based on information processing theories, it was expected that injunctive norms would be more effective when framed negatively compared with positively, while the opposite was expected for descriptive norms. In both experiments, participants were randomly assigned to one of four framed social norm conditions or a no-norm control condition. In Experiment 1, motivation to consume healthy and unhealthy foods was assessed by means of both indirect and self-report measures. In Experiment 2, actual food consumption was assessed. In both experiments, the predicted interaction was found. Results show that injunctive norms benefit from a negative (vs. positive) frame, while preliminary evidence su...

Editorial: Unravelling Social Norm Effects: How and When Social Norms Affect Eating Behavior

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Resistance Induction in the Context of Health Decision Making

During the past few decades we have witnessed increased academic attention on resistance to persuasion. This comes as no surprise, as people are often persuaded by external forces when making important decisions that may affect their health. Public health professionals, scholars, and other concerned parties have developed numerous trainings, interventions, and regulations to teach or assist people to resist unwanted persuasion, deriving from media exposure (e.g., advertising) or social pressure. The extant literature on resistance induction encompasses strategies such as inoculation, media literacy interventions, trainings on specific persuasive techniques, warnings, and social influence interventions. Although the research findings of the discussed strategies vary in how straightforward they are, they do offer promising avenues for policymakers and health communication professionals. Furthermore, several avenues worthy of further study can be identified.