Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-5447f9dfdb-xmf2s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-07-29T22:29:16.817Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

28 - Social Norms and Persuasion

from Part IV - Legitimacy and Social Norms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2021

By
Jessica M. Nolan  and
Kenneth E. Wallen
Edited by
Benjamin van Rooij  and
D. Daniel Sokol
Benjamin van Rooij
Affiliation:
School of Law, University of Amsterdam
D. Daniel Sokol
Affiliation:
University of Florida
Get access

Summary

Abstract: Social norms, what most people do or approve of, can be leveraged as a powerful tool for gaining compliance. This chapter reviews the behavioral intervention literature to describe and summarize the different ways that social norms can be operationalized to obtain compliance, the underlying motivations and mechanisms driving these effects, and possible delivery mechanisms. Best practices are highlighted for ensuring maximum compliance. The chapter also explores theoretical and empirical literature to review and characterize the behavioral domains in which social norm techniques are effectively implemented, including large-scale applications. The chapter concludes with a general discussion of research findings and suggestions for future research.

Information

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Compliance , pp. 404 - 421
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Abrahamse, Wokje, and Steg, Linda. 2013. “Social Influence Approaches to Encourage Resource Conservation: A Meta-analysis.” Global Environmental Change 23: 1773–85.Google Scholar
Abrahamse, Wokje, Steg, Linda, Vlek, Charles, and Rothengatter, Talib. 2005. “A Review of Intervention Studies Aimed at Household Energy Conservation.” Journal of Environmental Psychology 25: 273–91.Google Scholar
Agerström, Jens, Carlsson, Rickard, Nicklasson, Linda, and Guntell, Linda. 2016. “Using Descriptive Social Norms to Increase Charitable Giving: The Power of Local Norms.” Journal of Economic Psychology 52: 147–53.Google Scholar
Allcott, Hunt. 2011. “Social Norms and Energy Conservation.” Journal of Public Economics, 95: 1082–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allcott, Hunt, and Rogers, Todd. 2014. “The Short-Run and Long-Run Effects of Behavioral Interventions: Experimental Evidence from Energy Conservation.” American Economic Review 104: 3003–37.Google Scholar
Ajzen, Icek. 1991. “The Theory of Planned Behavior.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 50: 179–211.Google Scholar
Aronson, Elliot, and O’Leary, Michael. 1983. “The Relative Effectiveness of Models and Prompts on Energy Conservation: A Field Experiment in a Shower Room.” Journal of Environmental Systems 12: 219–24.Google Scholar
Asch, Solomon. 1955. “Opinions and Social Pressure.” Scientific American 193: 31–5.Google Scholar
Ayres, Ian, Raseman, Sophie, and Shih, Alice. 2012. “Evidence from Two Large Field Experiments that Peer Comparison Feedback Can Reduce Residential Energy Usage.” Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 29: 992–1022.Google Scholar
Bergquist, Magnus, and Nilsson, Andreas. 2019. The DOs and DON’Ts in Social Norms: A Descriptive Don’t-Norm Increases Conformity.” Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology 3: 158–66.Google Scholar
Bicchieri, Cristina. 2017. Norms in the Wild. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Bingenheimer, Jeffery. 2019. “Veering from a Narrow Path: The Second Decade of Social Norms Research.” Journal of Adolescent Health 64: S1–S3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blanton, Hart, Stuart, Anne, and van den Eijnden, Regina. 2001. “An Introduction to Deviance-Regulation Theory: The Effect of Behavioral Norms on Message Framing.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 27: 848–58.Google Scholar
Bond, Robert, Fariss, Christopher, Jones, Jason, Kramer, Adam, Marlow, Cameron, Settle, Jaime, and Fowler, James. 2012. “A 61-Million-Person Experiment in Social Influence and Political Mobilization.” Nature 489: 295–8.Google Scholar
Borsari, Brian, and Carey, Kate. 2003. “Descriptive and Injunctive Norms in College Drinking: A Meta-analytic Integration.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol 64: 331–41.Google Scholar
Burchell, Kevin, Rettie, Ruth, and Patel, Kavita. 2013. “Marketing Social Norms: Social Marketing and the Social Norm Approach.” Journal of Consumer Behaviour 12: 1–9.Google Scholar
Carcioppolo, Nick, Peng, Wei, Lun, Du, and Occa, Aurora. 2019. “Can a Social Norms Appeal Reduce Indoor Tanning? Preliminary Findings from a Tailored Messaging Intervention.” Health Education and Behavior 46: 818–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cialdini, Robert. 2003. “Crafting Normative Messages to Protect the Environment.” Current Directions in Psychological Science 12: 105–9.Google Scholar
Cialdini, Robert B., and Schroeder, David A.. 1976. “Increasing Compliance by Legitimizing Paltry Contributions: When Even a Penny Helps.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 34: 599–604.Google Scholar
Cialdini, Robert, and Trost, Melanie. 1998. “Social Influence: Social Norms, Conformity and Compliance.” In The Handbook of Social Psychology, edited by Gilbert, Daniel, Fiske, Susan, and Lindzey, Gardner, 151–92. New York: McGraw–Hill.Google Scholar
Cialdini, Robert B., Vincent, Joyce E., Lewis, Stephen K., Catalan, Jose, Wheeler, Diane, and Darby, Betty Lee. 1975. “Reciprocal Concessions Procedure for Inducing Compliance: The Door-in-the-Face Technique.” Journal of personality and Social Psychology 31: 206–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cialdini, Robert, Reno, Raymond, and Kallgren, Carl. 1990. “A Focus Theory of Normative Conduct: Recycling the Concept of Norms to Reduce Littering in Public Places.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 58: 1015–26.Google Scholar
Cialdini, Robert, Demain, Linda, Sagarin, Brad, Barrett, Daniel, Rhoads, Kelton, and Winters, Patricia. 2006. “Managing Social Norms for Persuasive Impact.” Social Influence 1: 3–15.Google Scholar
de Groot, Judith, Abrahamse, Wojke, and Jones, Kayleigh. 2013. “Persuasive Normative Messages: The Influence of Injunctive and Personal Norms on Using Free Plastic Bags.” Sustainability 5: 1829–44.Google Scholar
Demarque, Christophe, Charalambides, Laetitia, Hilton, Denis, and Waroquier, Laurent. 2015. “Nudging Sustainable Consumption: The Use of Descriptive Norms to Promote a Minority Behavior in a Realistic Online Shopping Environment.” Journal of Environmental Psychology 43: 166–74.Google Scholar
Deutsch, Morton and Gerard, Harold. 1955. “A Study of Normative and Informational Social Influences upon Individual Judgment.” Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 51: 629–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrow, K., Grolleau, G., and Ibanez, L.. (2017). “Social Norms and Pro–environmental Behavior: A Review of the Evidence.” Ecological Economics 140: 1–13.Google Scholar
Ferraro, Paul, Miranda, Juan, and Price, Michael. 2011. “The Persistence of Treatment Effects with Norm-Based Policy Instruments: Evidence from a Randomized Environmental Policy Experiment.” American Economic Review 101: 318–22.Google Scholar
Ferraro, Paul, and Price, Michael. 2013. “Using Nonpecuniary Strategies to Influence Behavior: Evidence from a Large-Scale Field Experiment.” Review of Economics and Statistics 95: 64–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foxcroft, David, Moreira, Maria, Santimano, Nerissa Almeida, and Smith, Lesley. 2015. “Social Norms Information for Alcohol Misuse in University and College Students.” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 1: doi:10.1002/14651858.CD006748.pub4.Google Scholar
Freedman, Jonathan L., and Fraser, Scott C.. 1966. “Compliance without Pressure: The Foot-in-the-Door Technique.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 4: 195–202.Google Scholar
Göckeritz, Suzanne, Schultz, P. Wesley, Rendón, Tania, Cialdini, Robert, Goldstein, Noah, and Griskevicius, Vlad. 2010. “Descriptive Normative Beliefs and Conservation Behavior: The Moderating Roles of Personal Involvement and Injunctive Normative Beliefs.” European Journal of Social Psychology 40: 514–23.Google Scholar
Goldstein, Noah, Cialdini, Robert, and Griskevicius, Vlad. 2008. “A Room with a Viewpoint: Using Social Norms to Motivate Environmental Conservation in Hotels.” Journal of Consumer Research 35: 472–82.Google Scholar
Hafner, Rebecca, Elmes, David, Read, Daniel, and White, Mathew. 2019. “Exploring the Role of Normative, Financial and Environmental Information in Promoting Uptake of Energy Efficient Technologies.” Journal of Environmental Psychology 63: 26–35.Google Scholar
Heywood, John, and Murdock, William. 2002. “Social Norms in Outdoor Recreation: Searching for the Behavior–Condition Link.” Leisure Sciences 24: 283–95.Google Scholar
Jachimowicz, Jon, Hauser, Oliver, O’Brien, Julia, Sherman, Erin, and Galinsky, Adam. 2018. “The Critical Role of Second-Order Normative Beliefs in Predicting Energy Conservation.” Nature Human Behaviour 2: 757–64.Google Scholar
Jacob, Céline, Guéguen, Nicolas, and Boulbry, Gaëlle. 2018. “How Proof of Previous Donations Influences Compliance with a Donation Request: Three Field Experiments.” International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing 15: 1–8.Google Scholar
Jacobson, Ryan, Mortensen, Chad, and Cialdini, Robert. 2011. “Bodies Obliged and Unbound: Differentiated Response Tendencies for Injunctive and Descriptive Social Norms.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 100: 433–48.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klucharev, Vasily, Munneke, Moniek, Smidts, Ale, and Fernández, Guillén. 2011. “Downregulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex Prevents Social Conformity.” Journal of Neuroscience 31: 11934–40.Google Scholar
Kredentser, Maia, Fabrigar, Leandre, Smith, Steven, and Fulton, Kimberly. 2012. “Following What People Think We Should Do versus What People Actually Do: Elaboration as a Moderator of the Impact of Descriptive and Injunctive Norms.” Social Psychological and Personality Science 3: 341–7.Google Scholar
Lapinski, Maria, Maloney, Erin, Braz, Mary, and Shulman, Hillary. 2013. “Testing the Effects of Social Norms and Behavioral Privacy on Hand Washing: A Field Experiment.” Human Communication Research 39: 21–46.Google Scholar
Lede, Ellin, Meleady, Rose, and Seger, Charles. 2019. “Optimizing the Influence of Social Norms Interventions: Applying Social Identity Insights to Motivate Residential Water Conservation.” Journal of Environmental Psychology 62: 105–14.Google Scholar
Leoniak, Krzysztof, and Cwalina, Wojciech. 2019. “The Role of Normative Prompts and Norm Support Cues in Promoting Light-Switching Behavior: A Field Study.” Journal of Environmental Psychology 64: 1–11.Google Scholar
Mackie, Gerry, Moneti, Francesca, Shakya, Holly, and Denny, Elaine. 2015. What Are Social Norms? How Are They Measured? San Diego: UNICEF and University of California–San Diego, Center on Global Justice.Google Scholar
Margetts, Helen, John, Peter, Escher, Tobias, and Reissfelder, Stéphane. 2011. “Social Information and Political Participation on the Internet: An Experiment.” European Political Science Review 3: 321–44.Google Scholar
Miller, Daniel, and Prentice, Deborah. 2016. “Changing Norms to Change Behavior.” Annual Review of Psychology 67: 339–61.Google Scholar
Mortensen, Chad, Neel, Rebecca, Cialdini, Robert, Jaeger, Christine, Jacobson, Ryan, and Ringel, Megan. 2017. “Trending Norms: A Lever for Encouraging Behaviors Performed by the Minority.” Social Psychological and Personality Science 10: 201–10.Google Scholar
Nguyen, Gabrielle, Costenbader, Elizabeth, Plourde, Kate, Kerner, Brad, and Igras, Susan. 2019. “Scaling-Up Normative Change Interventions for Adolescent and Youth Reproductive Health: An Examination of the Evidence.” Journal of Adolescent Health 64: S16–S30.Google Scholar
Nolan, Jessica. 2011. “The Cognitive Ripple of Social Norms Communications.” Group Processes and Intergroup Relations 14: 689–702.Google Scholar
Nolan, Jessica. 2017. “Social Norms and Their Enforcement.” In The Oxford Handbook of Social Influence, edited by Harkins, Stephen, Williams, Kipling, and Burger, Jerry, 147–64. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Nolan, Jessica, P., Schultz, Wesley, Cialdini, Robert, Goldstein, Noah, and Griskevicius, Vlad. 2008. “Normative Social Influence Is Underdetected.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 34: 913–23.Google Scholar
Nolan, Jessica, Kenefick, Jessica, and Schultz, P. Wesley. 2011. “Normative Messages Promoting Energy Conservation Will Be Underestimated by Experts … Unless You Show Them the Data.” Social Influence 6: 169–80.Google Scholar
Nolan, Jessica, Schultz, P. Wesley, Cialdini, Robert, and Goldstein, Noah. 2021. “The Social Norms Approach: A Wise Intervention for Solving Social and Environmental Problems.” In Handbook of Wise Interventions: How Social-Psychological Insights Can Help Solve Problems, edited by Walto, Gregory n and Crum, Alia. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Nook, Eric, and Zaki, Jamil. 2015. “Social Norms Shift Behavioral and Neural Responses to Foods.” Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 27: 1412–26.Google Scholar
Paluck, Elizabeth. 2009. “Reducing Intergroup Prejudice and Conflict Using the Media: A Field Experiment in Rwanda.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 96: 574–87.Google Scholar
Paluck, Elizabeth, and Ball, Laurie. 2010. Social Norms Marketing Aimed at Gender–Based Violence: A Literature Review and Critical Assessment. New York: International Rescue Committee.Google Scholar
Pepitone, Albert. 1976. “Toward a Normative and Comparative Biocultural Social Psychology.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 34: 641–53.Google Scholar
Perkins, H. Wesley. 2003 “The Emergence and Evolution of the Social Norms Approach to Substance Abuse Prevention.” In The Social Norms Approach to Preventing School and College Age Substance Abuse: A Handbook for Educators, Counselors, and Clinicians, edited by Perkins, H. Wesley, 3–17. San Francisco: Jossey–Bass.Google Scholar
Perkins, H. Wesley, and Berkowitz, Alan. 1986. “Perceiving the Community Norms of Alcohol Use among Students: Some Research Implications for Campus Alcohol Education Programming.” International Journal of the Addictions 21: 961–76.Google Scholar
Perkins, H. Wesley, Linkenbach, Jeffrey, Lewis, Melissa, and Neighbors, Clayton. 2010. “Effectiveness of Social Norms Media Marketing in Reducing Drinking and Driving: A Statewide Campaign.” Addictive Behaviors 35: 866–74.Google Scholar
Prestwich, Andrew, Kellar, Ian, Conner, Mark, Lawton, Rebecca, Gardner, Peter, and Turgut, Liz. 2016. “Does Changing Social Influence Engender Changes in Alcohol Intake? A Meta-analysis.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 84: 845–60.Google Scholar
Priebe, Carly, and Spink, Kevin. 2015. “Less Sitting and More Moving in the Office: Using Descriptive Norm Messages to Decrease Sedentary Behavior and Increase Light Physical Activity at Work.” Psychology of Sport and Exercise 19: 76–84.Google Scholar
Richetin, Juliette, Perugini, Marco, Mondini, Denny, and Hurling, Robert. 2014. “Conserving Water While Washing Hands: The Immediate and Durable Impacts of Descriptive Norms.” Environment and Behavior 48: 343–64.Google Scholar
Richter, Isabal, Thøgersen, John, and Klöckner, Christian. 2018. “A Social Norms Intervention Going Wrong: Boomerang Effects from Descriptive Norms Information.” Sustainability 10: 2848.Google Scholar
Robinson, Eric, Thomas, Jason, Aveyard, Paul, and Higgs, Suzanna. 2014. “What Everyone Else Is Eating: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Effect of Informational Eating Norms on Eating Behavior.” Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 114: 414–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rodriguez, Lindsey, Neighbors, Clayton, Rinker, Dipali, Lewis, Melissa, Lazorwitz, Brenda, Gonzales, Rubi, and Larimer, Mary. 2015. “Remote versus In-Lab Computer-Delivered Personalized Normative Feedback Interventions for College Student Drinking.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 83: 455.Google Scholar
Ruff, Christian, Ugazio, Giuseppe, and Fehr, Ernst. 2013. “Changing Social Norm Compliance with Noninvasive Brain Stimulation.” Science 342: 482–4.Google Scholar
Schultz, P. Wesley. 1999. “Changing Behavior with Normative Feedback Interventions: A Field Experiment on Curbside Recycling.” Basic and Applied Social Psychology 21: 25–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schultz, P. Wesley, Nolan, Jessica, Cialdini, Robert, Goldstein, Noah, and Griskevicius, Vlad. 2007. “The Constructive, Destructive, and Reconstructive Power of Social Norms.” Psychological Science 18: 429–33.Google Scholar
Schultz, P. Wesley, Khazian, Azar, and Zaleski, Adam. 2008. “Using Normative Social Influence to Promote Conservation among Hotel Guests.” Social Influence 3: 4–23.Google Scholar
Schultz, P. Wesley, Messina, Alyssa, Tronu, Giuseppe, Limas, Eleuterio, Gupta, Rupanwita, and Estrada, Mica. 2014. “Personalized Normative Feedback and the Moderating Role of Personal Norms: A Field Experiment to Reduce Residential Water Consumption.” Environment and Behavior 48: 686–710.Google Scholar
Schultz, P. Wesley, Estrada, Mica, Schmitta, Joseph, Sokoloski, Rebecca, and Silva-Send, Nilmini. 2015. “Using In–Home Displays to Provide Smart Meter Feedback about Household Electricity Consumption: A Randomized Control Trial Comparing Kilowatts, Cost, and Social Norms.” Energy 90: 351–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scribner, Robert, Theall, Katherine, Mason, Karen, Simonsen, Neal, Schneider, Shari, Towvim, Laura, and DeJong, William. 2011. “Alcohol Prevention on College Campuses: The Moderating Effect of the Alcohol Environment on the Effectiveness of Social Norms Marketing Campaigns.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 72: 232–9.Google Scholar
Sherif, Muzafer. 1936. The Psychology of Social Norms. New York: Harper.Google Scholar
Smith, J. Russell, and Louis, Winnifred. 2008. “Do As We Say and As We Do: The Interplay of Descriptive and Injunctive Group Norms in the Attitude–Behaviour Relationship.” British Journal of Social Psychology 47: 647–66.Google Scholar
Smith, J. Russell, Louis, Winnifred, Terry, Deborah, Greenaway, Katharine, Clarke, Miranda, and Cheng, Xiaoliang. 2012. “Congruent or Conflicted? The Impact of Injunctive and Descriptive Norms on Environmental Intentions.” Journal of Environmental Psychology 32: 353–61.Google Scholar
Sparkman, Gregg, and Walton, Gregory. 2017. “Dynamic Norms Promote Sustainable Behavior, even if It Is Counternormative.” Psychological Science 28: 1663–74.Google Scholar
Stok, F. Marijn, de Vet, Emely, de Ridder, Denise, and de Wit, John. (2016). “The Potential of Peer Social Norms to Shape Food Intake in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review of Effects and Moderators.” Health Psychology Review 10: 326–40.Google Scholar
van Kleef, Gerben, Wanders, Florian, Stamkou, Eftychia, and Homan, Astrid. 2019. “The Social Dynamics of Breaking the Rules: Antecedents and Consequences of Norm–Violating Behavior.” Current Opinion in Psychology 6: 25–31.Google Scholar
van de Bongardt, Daphne, Reitz, Ellen, Sandfort, Theo, and Deković, Maja. 2014. “A Meta-analysis of the Relations between Three Types of Peer Norms and Adolescent Sexual Behavior.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 19: 203–34.Google Scholar
Wallen, Kenneth E., and Kyle, Gerard. 2018. “The Efficacy of Message Frames on Recreational Boaters’ Aquatic Invasive Species Mitigation Behavioral Intentions.” Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 23: 297–312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallen, Kenneth E., and Romulo, Chelsie. 2017. “Social Norms: More Details, Please.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 117: E5283–E5284.Google Scholar
Walton, Gregory, and Wilson, Timothy. 2018. “Wise Interventions: Psychological Remedies for Social and Personal Problems.” Psychological Review 125: 617–55.Google Scholar
Wechsler, Henry, Nelson, Toben, Lee, Jae, Seibring, Mark, Lewis, Catherine, and Keeling, Richard. 2003. “Perception and Reality: A National Evaluation of Social Norms Marketing Interventions to Reduce College Students’ Heavy Alcohol Use.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 64: 484–94.Google Scholar

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge-org.demo.remotlog.com is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×