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Descriptive, Injunctive, and Collective Norms: An Expansion of the Theory of Normative Social Behavior (TNSB)
Health Communication
Abstract
We propose and test several hypotheses derived from the expanded theory of normative social behavior (TNSB) that also includes collective norms (with descriptive and injunctive norms). Data come from a quasi-experiment intervention to promote safer driving among adolescents in Serbia. The intervention was administered among high school students, most of whom were on the verge of receiving their driver's licenses. Longitudinal data were collected from treatment and control schools at baseline (N = 1,449) and four months later at end line (N = 1,072). Descriptive norms at baseline predicted six-month changes in safer-driving intentions among women (β = .010 p < .05) but not among men. Main-effects of injunctive and collective norms were not significant. However, a significant interaction between descriptive norms and collective norms emerged among men (though not among women) and injunctive norms interacted with both collective norms and descriptive norms among women (but not among men). Initial evidence adds credence to the idea of enhancing the TNSB by adding both injunctive and collective (together with descriptive) norms as drivers of behaviors.
... However, follow-up research studies demonstrated that individuals' perceptions of descriptive norms surrounding a particular behavior were more strongly associated with engaging in that behavior under conditions of higher injunctive norms (e.g., drinking, Rimal, 2008;risky driving, Rimal & Yilma, 2022). That is, the associations between individuals' perceptions of others' drinking and risky driving behaviors and their own drinking and risky driving behaviors were stronger among those individuals who held stronger perceptions of social approval by those same others compared with those who held weaker perceptions of social approval (Rimal, 2008;Rimal & Yilma, 2022). ...
... To avoid substantially increasing the number of analyses, we delimited the analyses of the interaction to the examination of the two types of norms from the same referents. This decision was made based on the aforementioned nonsport research that demonstrated support for the interaction between descriptive and injunctive norms from the same referents (Rimal, 2008;Rimal & Yilma, 2022). Because previous researchers have found mixed results, no directional hypotheses were generated with respect to the moderation by injunctive norms. ...
... Third, injunctive norms may simply not be a key moderator for the relationship between descriptive norms and help-seeking intentions. In a recent expansion of the theory of normative social behavior, Rimal and colleagues (Chung & Rimal, 2016;Rimal & Yilma, 2022) identified numerous additional moderators, which can be categorized into factors that are related to the person (e.g., age), target behavior (e.g., public vs. private), and contexts (e.g., influence from social media). In future research, it may be worthwhile to examine the moderators that are particularly salient for help-seeking for mental health. ...
As mental health issues are prevalent among athletes, research is warranted to examine athletes’ help-seeking for mental health concerns. This study examined the relationship between social norms and college athletes’ mental health help-seeking intentions. Analysis of cross-sectional survey data from 290 college athletes in the United States and Canada revealed that after accounting for key control variables, descriptive norms from parents (i.e., perceptions that parents would seek help) were positively associated with athletes’ help-seeking intentions. Descriptive norms from coaches, teammates, and friends were not associated with help-seeking intentions. Relationships between descriptive norms and help-seeking intentions were not moderated by social identity or injunctive norms. The findings suggest that descriptive norms may have a small, but meaningful relationship with intentions to seek help for mental health concerns, depending on the person from whom the social norms originate.
... Scholars have proposed the influence of collective norms on individual behaviors (Lapinski & Rimal, 2005;Mead et al., 2014;Rimal & Yilma, 2022;Sedlander & Rimal, 2019). This theoretical proposition is rooted in the idea that social normative influence is multilayered: the actual social environment serves as a source for individual perceived norms, thereby shaping individual behaviors (Mead et al., 2014;Sedlander & Rimal, 2019). ...
... Recently, scholars have attempted to advance social norm theory through examining collective norms as a moderator in the relationship between perceived norms and behavioral intentions (Geber et al., 2021;Rimal & Yilma, 2022). However, the hypothesized interaction patterns varied across studies and empirical evidence showed inconsistencies across gender groups and behaviors. ...
... However, the hypothesized interaction patterns varied across studies and empirical evidence showed inconsistencies across gender groups and behaviors. Rimal and Yilma (2022) tested modified TNSB within the context of risky driving behaviors (e.g., speeding, texting, talking on a phone). They hypothesized that the positive association between perceived descriptive norms of risky driving and risky driving intentions would weaken as the collective norm of risky driving increased. ...
... Chung & Rimal, 2016). Rimal and Yilma (2021) tested the expanded TNSB to include collective norms, in addition to descriptive and injunctive norms. Put simply, TNSB now incorporates actual prevalence in addition to perceptions of the prevalence of the behavior. ...
... Collective norms emerge in groups through interactions between the group members (Bettenhausen & Murnighan, 1985). Collective norms, in essence, are the actual occurrence of a behavior, action, or phenomenon in a society (Rimal & Yilma, 2021). Collective norms influence perceived norms, as what actually happens in the surrounding influences an individual's thoughts and ideas. ...
... More recently, a study of safe driving in Serbia tested the integration of collective norms into the TNSB, conceptualized as actual prevalence of phenomena in a referent group (Rimal & Yilma, 2021). The researchers' goal was to examine the influence of each type of norm on high school students' intention to engage in risky driving behaviors. ...
... The theory of normative social behavior explains how forms of normative influence, namely descriptive and injunctive norms, shape individuals' behavioral intentions (Rimal and Real, 2005). Although the initial theory encompassed only individual-level perceived norms, its recent extension also incorporates collective norms (Rimal and Yilma, 2022). As such, the theory of normative social behavior is a fruitful theoretical framework applied across various health contexts to promote healthy behavior and reduce risky behavior (Rhodes et al., 2020;Shulman et al., 2017). ...
... In contrast, perceived norms, operating at the individual or psychological level, refer to the norms perceived by individuals, whether accurately or otherwise (Lapinski and Rimal, 2005). In turn, recent extensions of the theory of normative social behavior have incorporated collective norms, namely collective descriptive norms and collective injunctive norms, into the theory's premises (Geber et al., 2021;Rimal and Yilma, 2022). Specifically, collective descriptive norms pertain to the actual prevalence of behavior in a group-for example, a country's vaccination rate. ...
... Like perceived norms, collective norms have also been theorized to affect individuals' behavioral intentions directly (Rimal and Yilma, 2022). In several studies, collective descriptive norms were directly and positively associated with health-promoting behaviors or intentions, including using contraception (Sedlander and Rimal, 2019) and condoms (Rimal et al., 2013). ...
... Collective norms are the actual prevalence of a behavior people encounter in their social environment (Rimal & Yilma, 2022). ...
... Akin to a societal perspective, this conceptualization views collective norms as a manifest property, as opposed to mental representations, of the group (Yanovitzky & Rimal, 2006). Collective norms can directly influence behavior (Rimal & Yilma, 2022). ...
... According to the TNSB, people will conform more when collective and perceived norms are congruent (Rimal & Yilma, 2022). People may wear masks more when they perceive social approval for it and observe more people doing it. ...
Novel, public behaviors, such as masking, should be susceptible to normative influence. This paper advances the theory of normative social behavior by considering a new set of moderators of normative influence - superdiffuser traits - and by clarifying the antecedents and consequences of exposure to collective norms. We use data from a two-wave survey of a cohort living in one U.S. county during the pandemic (N = 913) to assess normative effects on masking. We also used a bipartite network (based on people shopping for food in the same stores) to examine exposure to collective norms. The results show different superdiffuser traits have distinct effects on the relationship between perceived injunctive norms and masking intentions. Exposure to collective norms influences masking, but this influence depends on how people interact with their social environments. Network analysis shows that behavioral homophily is a significant predictor of selective exposure to collective norms earlier (but not later) in the pandemic. Implications for understanding normative influence in a context where opinion leadership matters are discussed.
... The theory of normative social behavior (TNSB) discusses the mechanisms underlying the influence of norms on health behaviors and identifies specific moderators that change the relationship between norms and behavior. TNSB has been widely tested in various health contexts, involving cross-sectional (Carcioppolo & Jensen, 2012;Chung & Lapinski, 2018;Geber et al., 2019;Lapinski et al., 2017;Varava, 2019) and longitudinal designs (Rimal & Yilma, 2022;Zhu et al., 2022). Yet, studies seldom examine the cross-lagged effects of norms during an actual pandemic within the unique context of evolving states and changing recommendations on protective measures. ...
... Finally, the current study focused on individual-level, perceived norms without considering collective norms recently incorporated into the TNSB (Rimal & Yilma, 2022). Collective norms are theorized to operate at the community or societal level, directly influencing health behaviors or intentions (Geber et al., 2021;Sedlander & Rimal, 2019). ...
... Collective norms refer to social norms as a social construct (in contrast to social norms as an individual construct; Legros & Cislaghi, 2020). They denote the objectively shared norms of individuals independent of one individual's subjective perceptions (Rimal & Yilma, 2022). For example, a library is associated with the shared norm of speaking quietly-whether or not one chooses to ignore the presumed norm. ...
... For example, a library is associated with the shared norm of speaking quietly-whether or not one chooses to ignore the presumed norm. Collective norms can be stronger or weaker, leading to differences in the influence of perceived injunctive and descriptive norms on behavior (Geber et al., 2021;Rimal & Yilma, 2022). By including collective norms on the objective side, we allow for researchers to engage with norms that are inherent to the situation in parallel with more subjective norms (described below). ...
Communication researchers have long sought to situate or contextualize media behaviors in their natural settings. However, the many approaches taken to understand media behavior in context have varied considerably. This article proposes a metatheoretical framework for theorizing media behavior at the situational level, encompassing the entirety of circumstances surrounding a media behavior at a given moment. The framework describes how psychological states, environmental context, and media context combine to shape moment-to-moment media behavior. We then describe how situational factors have the potential to interact with the three phases of media behavior—i.e., selection, processing, and disengagement—in distinctive ways. We argue that communication researchers only gain the ability to explain the variability in media behavior by taking the situational level into account. We conclude by providing future theoretical and empirical directions to guide the field in building a more generalizable and durable understanding of situated media behavior.
... This manifestation of social norms is termed "collective norms" in the Theory of Normative Social Behavior [26], and has been found to influence behavior independent of perceived norms. Descriptive, injunctive, and collective norms are also thought to interact with one another to influence behavior [27], though evidence for these interaction effects in the family planning literature is scant. ...
... Additionally, we also believed that there would be significant interactive effects between descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and network MC use as they relate to individual MC use. These hypotheses stem from the expanded Theory of Normative Social Behavior which suggests that the three types of norms may operate differently in influencing male and female adolescent behavior, and that interactions between normative variables can be used to understand the effect of different normative scenarios on behavior [27]. As an exploratory aim, we wanted to know the most common reference group identified for male and female participants. ...
Purpose
Despite Kenya’s encouraging progress in increasing access to modern contraception among youth, several barriers remain preventing large-scale efforts to reduce demand-side unmet need for family planning. Shifting social norms around the use and acceptability of modern contraception may represent a potent target for future interventions. However, the structure of normative influence on individual modern contraceptive use among youth needs to be determined. Therefore, our aim was to estimate the influence of individual and group-level normative influence on modern contraceptive use among adolescents from two villages in rural Kenya.
Methods
Trained enumerators collected data from individuals aged 15–24 who provided oral informed consent, or parental informed consent, in two villages in rural Kilifi county. Participants completed a questionnaire related to modern contraceptive use and were asked to nominate one to five people (referents) with whom they spend free time. The enumerators photographed each individual who nominated at least one referent using Android phones and matched them with their nominated referents. Using this social network data, we estimated group-level normative influence by taking an average of referents’ modern contraception use. We then explored associations between descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and network modern contraceptive use on individual modern contraceptive use, controlling for known confounders using logistic regression models. We also conducted sensitivity analyses to test a pattern of differential referent influence on individual modern contraceptive use.
Results
There was a positive association between pro-modern contraception descriptive and injunctive norms and individual modern contraception use (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) = 1.29, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05–1.6, and aOR = 1.31, CI = 1.06–1.62, respectively). Network modern contraceptive use was associated with individual use in the bivariate model (aOR = 2.57, CI = 1.6–4.12), but not in the multivariable model (aOR = 1.67, CI = 0.98–2.87). When stratified by sex and marital status, network modern contraceptive use was associated with individual modern contraceptive use among female participants (aOR = 2.9, CI = 1.31–6.42), and unmarried female participants (aOR = 5.26, CI = 1.34–20.69), but not among males. No interactive effects between norms variables were detected. Sensitivity analyses with a different estimate of network modern contraceptive use showed similar results.
Conclusions
Social norms are multilevel phenomena that influence youth modern contraceptive use, especially among young women in rural Kenya. Unmarried women with modern contraceptive users in their social network may feel less stigma to use contraception themselves. This may reflect gendered differences in norms and social influence effects for modern contraceptive use. Future research should investigate group-level normative influence in relation to family planning behaviors.
... 100th issue, published in 2010. The communication landscape has undergone changes since then in the topics published, theory expansion and application (see, for instance, Aldoory et al., 2018;Harrington & Kerr, 2017;Rimal & Yilma, 2021) and increases in the use of big data and computational social science (Rains, 2020), along with increased practices in data sharing (e.g., open access data). Additionally, the number of volumes published in Health Communication has increased over the years. ...
... The relationship between collective norms and individual behaviors is likely due to other factors that are not measured [30]. This idea of collective norms has since been incorporated in the extended theory of normative social behavior (TNSB) [11], which discusses the interactions across the three norms -descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and collective norms -to propose how they jointly affect behaviors [32]. This idea has taken hold in a number of studies [33,34,35], but the underlying causal mechanism has yet to be tested more rigorously. ...
Background
More than 60% of women of reproductive age in Odisha, India are anemic. The national long-term efforts in reducing anemia have focused mostly on the supply side, with a paucity of campaigns on the demand side. Social norms serve as significant determinants of human behavior, but there are few interventions that adopt a social-norms approach to reducing anemia. An intervention was implemented to change descriptive, injunctive, and collective social norms to improve iron folic acid consumption behaviors among women of reproductive age.
Methods
A longitudinal cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted to collect data at baseline, six months later at midline, and a year after that at end-line. All villages in our study area were formed into clusters, randomly assigned to either the treatment (50 clusters with 130 villages) or the control (39 clusters with 109 villages) arm. Women were eligible for inclusion if they aged between15 and 49, spoke Odiya, and did not plan to move in the next year. Women living in treatment communities received the intervention package that comprised community-based education sessions, health communication videos, and hemoglobin testing.
Results
Data analyses included 2,061 women in the treatment arm and 2,049 women in the control arm enrolled in the trial at baseline. Hierarchical linear models revealed that all three types of social norms improved significantly more in treatment than in control communities (all p’s < 0.001) at midline. Two of the norms (descriptive and collective but not injunctive norms) predicted iron folic acid consumption at end-line. The relative improvement in iron folic acid consumption over time was significantly greater in treatment communities (p <.001).
Conclusions
It appears that a social norms-based intervention can change longer-term iron and folic acid consumption behaviors to reduce anemia. Future practice may merit having norms-based strategies to promote adherence to micronutrient supplementation and medical guidelines among women. This demand-side approach will be particularly useful in resource-limited settings where the health system is inadequately prepared to procure and distribute supplements.
Trial registration
This trial was registered with Clinical Trials Registry- India (CTRI) (CTRI/2018/10/016186) on 29 October 2018.
... A term similar to social control behavior is norms (Rimal & Yilma, 2022;Zhu et al., 2024). Both norms and control can promote behavioral change, but they have different definitions. ...
Littering is a serious social issue in China, even though residents disapprove of this behavior. When residents live in communities with high social cohesion, residents may stop other residents from littering; this is referred to as littering control behavior. We use collective efficacy theory to discuss the association between perceived social cohesion and littering control behavior in China. Perceived social cohesion consists of social relationship density, social trust, and social support, which can promote littering control behavior and thus achieve collective efficacy. Using binary logistic regression and mediation analyses, we address this question via the 2018 wave of the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (n=4808). We find that perceived social cohesion is positively associated with littering control behavior. We also find that subjective social status may be a mediating mechanism through which perceived social cohesion promotes littering control behavior. For governments, policies to stop littering should address social cohesion and improve residents’ subjective social status.
... The theory of normative social behavior (TNSB; [27]) posits that descriptive and injunctive norms drive behaviors through both main-effects as well as through their interactions. Studies have shown that behaviors are significantly more likely to occur when both descriptive and injunctive norms are high, and vice versa [21,26] [30], but this finding has not been reported in the context of vaccination, which constitutes our first set of hypotheses: ...
... Rimal and Real's theory of normative social behavior and its subsequent re nement is based on the premise that social norms affect behaviors both directly and through other moderators, including outcome expectations, group identity, self-e cacy, and others (21,24). Both social norms and their moderators are propagated in a social network through communication and social interaction (25,26). ...
Background
Childhood immunization rates in the urban slums of India are suboptimal. Rapid urbanization is associated with decreased connection to government resources and fewer social interactions between neighbors. The role of social capital in the dissemination of vaccine information is understudied, particularly in this urban slum context. This research explores the social networks of caregivers in Varanasi, India with an eye toward the connection between network structures and the development of social norm networks related to childhood immunization.
Methods
We performed a social network analysis for community detection to visualize the social structure that may influence normative beliefs around childhood immunization. We surveyed 2,058 caregivers living in slum areas of Varanasi, India about childhood immunization practices. Respondents also provided the names of three close contacts with whom they had discussed childhood immunization. We created an index to measure participants’ adherence to descriptive norms and another one to measure their adherence to injunctive norms related to childhood immunization. We then used Gephi software to visualize and analyze the social networks of all respondents and the norm networks based on participants’ strength of adherence to descriptive and injunctive norms.
Results
The analysis uncovered a narrow network of influence comprising mostly of distant and immediate family members, which may speak to a lack of community development in the urban areas we surveyed. The lack of interaction within the broader community – friends, and neighbors, among others - may have implications regarding vaccine intentions, vaccine hesitancy, and beliefs about vaccine safety. Our study of these norm networks indicates caregivers hold strong beliefs regarding childhood immunization, but for half of those in this study, normative beliefs were not as strong.
Conclusions
Understanding social networks and norms is important for encouraging childhood immunization in low-and middle-income countries. Close-knit social networks hold the potential to influence beliefs about childhood immunization, which may impact the role of public health, state, or government-sponsored communication that might promote greater engagement in childhood immunization efforts. We recommend that healthcare practitioners go beyond an individual-to-network model to consider a network-to-network model of influence.
... The theory of normative social behavior (TNSB; [27]) posits that descriptive and injunctive norms drive behaviors through both main-effects as well as through their interactions. Studies have shown that behaviors are significantly more likely to occur when both descriptive and injunctive norms are high, and vice versa [21,26] [30], but this finding has not been reported in the context of vaccination, which constitutes our first set of hypotheses: ...
... Second, despite the quota sampling method used in the data, the substantial sample size, and efforts to cross-check our sample demographics with existing census data, we cannot claim these findings represent the U.S. population because it is not a random sample from the population. Nonetheless, this study does contribute to the existing body of literature on social norms and on the TNSB in particular by using a large sample to test theoretically-driven predictions about the role of norms in shaping behaviors (Jang et al., 2013;Rhodes et al., 2020;Rimal & Yilma, 2021). Furthermore, because of the nature of the sample and the platform we used for data collection, we were unable to reach people who do not have access to communication technology and as such our conclusions are likely skewed toward people with higher socio-economic status. ...
To reduce the impact of communicable diseases like COVID-19, collective action is required and likely to be susceptible to normative influence as well as whether people are more or less collectively oriented. We extend the theory of normative social behavior (TNSB) to account for group orientation and predict the relationships between social norms and physical distancing behaviors. Using a rolling cross-sectional design during 17 weeks of the pandemic, a national sample of US residents from 20 states (N = 8,778) participated in the study. The findings show that perceived descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and group orientation are significantly associated with physical distancing. The descriptive norm-behavior relationship and injunctive norm-behavior relationship are moderated by group orientation and the other predicted moderators in the TNSB. The findings extend the TNSB and highlight the need to understand social norms and group orientation in formative research for health communication campaigns designed to promote prevention behaviors.
... Theoretical and empirical research has shown that perceived descriptive norms (i.e. what individuals think most other people do) influence one's own behaviors and beliefs [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. However, individuals often misperceive local norms: they tend to underestimate the extent to which health-promoting behaviours are normative and overestimate the extent to which health-risk behaviours are normative [41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. ...
Background
Over the past decade, 15 high-priority countries in eastern and southern Africa have promoted voluntary medical male circumcision for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention. The prevalence of male circumcision in Uganda nearly doubled from 26% in 2011 to 43% in 2016, but remains below the 2020 target level. Little is known about how common male circumcision is perceived to be, how accurate such perceptions are, and whether they are associated with men’s own circumcision uptake.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study of all adult residents of eight villages in Rwampara District, southwestern Uganda in 2020-2022. We elicited their perceptions of the adult male circumcision prevalence within their village: >50% (most men), 10% to <50% (some), <10%, (few to none), or do not know. We compared their perceived norms to the aggregated prevalence of circumcision reported in these villages. We used a modified multivariable Poisson regression model to estimate the association between perceived norms and personal circumcision uptake among men.
Results
We surveyed 1566 participants (91% response rate): 698 men and 868 women. Among the men, 167 (27%) reported being circumcised, including 167/444 (38%) men <50 years of age. Approximately one-fourth of the population (189 (27%) men and 177 (20%) women) believed that few to no men in their own village had been circumcised. In a multivariable regression model, men who underestimated the prevalence of male circumcision were less likely to be circumcised themselves (adjusted relative risk (aRR) = 0.51; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.37-0.83).
Conclusions
In this population-based study in rural Uganda, one-fourth of men underestimated the prevalence of male circumcision. Men who underestimated the extent of circumcision uptake were themselves less likely to be circumcised. If the observed association is causal and underestimates within the population contribute to low uptake, then interventions correcting these misperceived norms could increase uptake of voluntary medical male circumcision.
... On the other hand, organizational criterion will slowly shape the organizational culture of the hospital regarding CPGs on antimicrobials over time (12). During this long process, organizational criterion could in uence physicians' attitudes, views and intentions on the use of CPGs on antimicrobials, which would also promote physicians to adjust their antimicrobials prescription behavior for ensuring consistency with the organizationally recognized norms (49,50). ...
Background
With the improper use of antimicrobials becoming a major public health concern globally, poor compliance of clinical practice guidelines(CPGs) on antimicrobials is still prominent, especially in less developed regions. Although social norms have received increasing attention as the determinants of physicians’ CPGs use, most studies set forth only a single level of social norms. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of multifaceted social norms on physician’ use of CPGs on antimicrobials, and further reveal the temporal effects of social norms.
Methods
Based on integration of Theory of Planned Behavior and Theory of Normative Social Behavior, a questionnaire survey was conducted covering social norms at individual level (subjective norms), organizational level (organization criterion) and social level (social identity), as well as other potential factors (attitudes, behavioral intention, etc) for the use of CPGs on antimicrobials. Data were collected by multi-stage random sampling from 502 physicians in secondary and tertiary general hospitals in central-western China. Structural equation model (SEM) was used to link the three-level factors with physician's behavior. And with reflected by the moderating effects of professional titles in this study, the temporal effects of social norms were examined by multi-group SEM.
Results
Nearly 70% of the participants had a good practice of using CPGs on antimicrobials. Reliability and validity analysis shows that the questionnaire developed from the theoretical model is acceptable. Subjective norms, organization criterion and social identity were linked to higher behavioral intentions(β = 0.212, p < 0.01; β = 0.254, P < 0.01; β = 0.212, P < 0.01). The direct effect of behavior intentions on physicians' practice was 0.822, and the indirect effects of subjective norms, organizational criterion and social identity on practice were 0.308, 0.236 and 0.235. The effects of organization criterion and social identity on behavior were moderated by the professional title, and regarding effects would be weakened with the rise of professional title.
Conclusion
This study reveals the importance of multifaceted social norms in enhancing physicians’ use of CPGs on antimicrobials and the moderating effects of professional titles on the role of social norms at organizational level (organizational criterion) and social level (social identity).
... We also tested two hypotheses from the dynamic coordination perspective. We define the majority ideology and morality as that adopted by most people in a specific social context; this conceptualization is similar to collective norm, the objective prevalence of a certain behavior or intention in a certain context (Rimal & Yilma, 2021). Previous studies operationalized the objective prevalence of behavior or intention (i.e., collective norm) as the mean derived from the sample at hand Additionally, a new variable indicating social justice dominance within each subject was created by subtracting subjects' SO scores from their SJ scores. ...
A bstract
This study tests two sets of competing hypotheses about the relationship between trait reactivity to positive and negative stimuli (i.e., motivational reactivity), moral stances on social principles (i.e., social morality), and political ideology. The classic view contends that a specific political ideology or social morality results from a specific motivational reactivity pattern, whereas the dynamic coordination account suggests that trait motivational reactivity modulates an individual’s political ideology and social morality as a result of the majority political beliefs in their immediate social context. A survey using subjects recruited from a liberal-leaning social context was conducted to test these hypotheses. Results support the dynamic coordination account. Reactivity to negativity (indexed by defensive system activation scores) is associated with the adoption of the dominant social morality and political ideology. Reactivity to positivity (indexed by appetitive system activation scores) is associated with the adoption of nondominant social moral and political stances.
... 17 This norm, and not just the perception of norms, has been shown to influence behaviours. 9,18,19 In this study, we investigated the influence of descriptive, injunctive and collective norms on iron and folic acid consumption through an intervention conducted by the Reduction in Anaemia through Normative Innovations Project in Odisha, in the east of India. The primary outcome of this field trial is reduction in anaemia as measured through haemoglobin level. ...
Objective:
To assess whether improvements in social norms related to iron and folic acid consumption are associated with increased iron and folic acid consumption.
Methods:
In a cluster randomized trial in Odisha, India, we implemented an intervention to improve descriptive norms (people's perceptions about how many other people take iron and folic acid), injunctive norms (social pressures people feel to take iron and folic acid) and collective norms (actual levels of iron and folic acid consumption). We assessed changes in these norms and self-reported iron and folic acid consumption in control and intervention arms after 6 months (September 2019-February 2020). We collected data from control (n = 2048) and intervention (n = 2060) arms at baseline and follow-up (n = 1966 and n = 1987, respectively).
Findings:
At follow-up, mean scores in self-reported iron and folic acid consumption in the control arm had decreased from 0.39 to 0.31 (21% decrease; not significant). In the intervention arm, mean scores increased from 0.39 to 1.62 (315% increase; P < 0.001). The difference between the two arms was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Each of the three norms also improved at significantly higher rates in the intervention than in the control arm (P < 0.001 for each norm). Changes in descriptive and collective norms (but not injunctive norms) were associated with changes in self-reported iron and folic acid consumption (P < 0.001 for both norms).
Conclusion:
Our results show that social norms can be improved and that these improvements are associated with positive behavioural changes. A social norms-based approach may help promote iron and folic acid consumption in India.
To assess the effect of an online comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) package for vocational high school students in China's developed and less-developed regions, a parallel, unblinded, cluster, randomized controlled trial was conducted. The study included 3,415 tenth-grade students from 29 mixed-gender vocational high schools who had not previously received CSE. The intervention group participated in weekly classes over two months, totaling 360 minutes of online CSE. For the primary outcomes, the intervention group exhibited improvements in sexuality knowledge and attitude post-intervention and one year later. However, after one year, the positive effects were less than post-intervention. In addition, the intervention group's growth rate of sexuality knowledge and attitude was not limited by the initial baseline level. In the secondary outcomes, compared with the control group, the online CSE resulted in a higher frequency of penetrative sexual events, harassment coping self-efficacy in both post-intervention and one year later, and school bully perception only in post-intervention. No significant between-group differences were observed in the trajectory of STD symptom changes, contraceptive usage, unintended pregnancy rates, or self-efficacy. Finally, curriculum progress positively impacted the slope of sexuality knowledge and attitude. Results suggest that more sustained CSE is necessary for vocational high school students in China. Online CSE presents a feasible solution to enhance sexuality knowledge and attitude and bridge the gap in developmental and sexuality education levels. However, behaviors and well-being outcomes did not yield consistent positive results.
Development and amplification of effective, culturally resonant, trustworthy, and evidence-based public health communication are urgently needed. Research evidence, theory, and practical experience from within and beyond the interdisciplinary field of health communication are well-positioned to help public health authorities, researchers, and advocates navigate the complex societal challenges that influence health and well-being in global contexts. This review offers a broad overview of the field, considers what constitutes “effectiveness” versus “effects” in public health communication, and describes core concepts of public health communication as a process rather than a product. We review domains and dominant foci of public health communication research, articulate challenges for health communication to advance health and social equity and address mis-/disinformation, and offer practical guidance on message development, audience segmentation, multilevel intervention, and evaluation of communication programs. We conclude by identifying important questions for future public health communication research, interventions, and funding.
Cyberhate, also known as hate speech, has emerged as a significant global concern. Existing research suggests that adolescents are primarily involved in cyberhate as bystanders, mainly unintentionally. However, there is growing evidence that some adolescents intentionally search for such content. Some indications suggest that actively searching for cyberhate may align more closely with sending it than mere exposure, hinting at a potentially risky behavior. Yet, the association between cyberhate searching and sending and the factors that may influence this relation has not been thoroughly explored. Therefore, the present study investigated (1) whether cyberhate searching is associated with sending and (2) whether the need for online popularity and toxic online disinhibition moderate this relation. The sample comprises 2,539 students (49.1 percent boys, 49.2 percent girls, and 1.7 percent others) aged 11–18 years (M = 14.07, SD = 1.39) from 18 middle and high schools in Spain. Self-report questionnaires were administered to assess cyberhate searching and sending, the need for online popularity, and toxic online disinhibition. Results indicated that cyberhate searching is positively associated with sending. Likewise, the high need for online popularity and toxic online disinhibition have strengthened this relation. These findings suggest that searching for cyberhate constitutes a risky behavior and highlight the importance of addressing the need for online popularity and toxic online disinhibition in cyberhate prevention programs.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective medicine preventing HIV transmission. This study designs and tests normative messages that promote PrEP-related information seeking among men who have sex with men (MSM) (n = 410). Two factors were manipulated in normative messaging: type of norm (descriptive ["people do"] vs. injunctive ["people should"]) and type of pronoun (individual "you" vs. collective "we"). The results favored the use of descriptive normative appeal and collective pronouns in normative message design. For health campaigns that target MSM's PrEP-related behaviors, this study suggests that descriptive norms may increase behavioral changes whereas injunctive norms may appear intrusive and backfire. At the same time, using inclusive agency assignment (e.g., pronouns) may encourage HIV prevention through provoking solidarity considerations.
Vaccination is a vital defense against COVID-19 infections and outbreaks, yet vaccine hesitancy poses a significant threat to pandemic response and recovery. We conducted a systematic review of published randomized controlled trials (N = 47) assessing the persuasive effects of COVID-19 communication on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Individual vs. collective appeals and gain vs. loss frames are among the most frequently assessed message features, but they generally do not make a difference in persuasion. Normative messages that highlight higher (vs. lower) prevalence of vaccine acceptance are more persuasive. Message sources overall have limited impact on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, but sources that have a shared identity with the message receivers tend to be persuasive. More engaging message channels such as interactive chatbots and videos are promising communication tools but are generally under-utilized and under-studied. Compared to no communication or irrelevant communication, COVID-19 vaccine messages generally have a small advantage in increasing COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Messages that include 1) vaccine safety and/or efficacy information; 2) collective appeals combined with embarrassment appeals; and 3) political leaders' vaccine endorsement are among the most effective messaging strategies. There is no evidence of any backfire effects of COVID-19 vaccine messages. We discuss the implications of our findings for persuasive message design in pandemic vaccine communication.
Under the premise of the value-belief-norm (VBN) model, this study examined the influence of values, beliefs and norms on social entrepreneurial intention of working adults in China. The cross-sectional design was employed, and an online survey, which involved 1,075 working adults, was conducted. All data were analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The obtained results showed the significant and positive influence of self-enhancement, openness to change, and self-transcendence on the sense of meaning and purpose. Moreover, the sense of meaning and purpose exhibited significant and positive influence on problem awareness, and problem awareness was found to have positive effect on outcome efficacy. Besides that, the sense of meaning and purpose, problem awareness, outcome efficacy, and injunctive social norms were found to exhibit significant and positive on personal norms. Finally, personal norms and injunctive social norms exhibited statistically significant and positive influence on social entrepreneurial intention. The results of effect size confirmed the considerable influence of personal norms and injunctive social norms on social entrepreneurial intention. Therefore, policy development aimed at promoting socioeconomic and environmental sustainability through social entrepreneurship should comprehensively consider the influence of personal norms and injunctive social norms. Increasing the sense of meaning and purpose of the working population, prompting an increased problem consequence and outcome self-efficacy, as well as instilling personal norms and injunctive social norms through various social and environmental incentives are recommended.
In the 12 months to November 2021, 19% of the people killed on Australian roads were aged between 17 and 25 years, despite this age group making up just 12% of the driving population. A substantial number of these crashes resulted from smartphone use. It is widely accepted that norms influence young drivers’ smartphone use; however, there is a dearth of research investigating how different norms interact to influence this behaviour. The current survey study (N = 137) applied an extended Theory of Normative Social Behaviour (TNSB) to investigate illegal smartphone use among young drivers. The original TNSB model proposes that injunctive norm (i.e., perceived societal approval), outcome expectancies, and group identity each moderate the relationship between descriptive norm and behavioural intention. The current study added subjective norm (i.e., perceived approval from important others) to the model. Moderation analyses found that only subjective norm moderated the relationship between descriptive norm and behavioural intention, whereas subjective norm, injunctive norm, and outcome expectancies each partially mediated this relationship. These findings provided partial support for the TNSB. They highlighted the influence of a range of norms on young drivers’ smartphone use (i.e., descriptive norm, subjective norm, and injunctive norm) and, in particular, the influence of subjective norm in this context. It also highlights the importance of investigating how norms interact with each other to influence the relationship between descriptive norm and behavioural intention. In accordance with these findings, future public education messages should challenge normative influences, and subjective norm in particular, on young drivers’ smartphone use.
The mismatch between individually perceived norms and actual collective norms, termed normative misperceptions, is prevalent and predictive of behaviors. Through a survey conducted across six provinces in China (N = 952), we proposed and tested two types of normative misperceptions in the environmental domain, namely descriptive and injunctive misperceptions. We found evidence indicating the presence of both underestimated misperceptions, which were associated with participants’ reduced pro-environmental engagement. Quantile regressions revealed differences in the above effects across individuals; specifically, descriptive misperception exerted a stronger impact on those participants less engaged in pro-environmental behavior, but this effect did not emerge for injunctive misperception. We identified two psychological factors behind the relationship between misperceptions and pro-environmental behavior: outcome efficacy explained the effects of descriptive misperception on pro-environmental behavior while problem awareness accounted for the effects of injunctive misperception on pro-environmental behavior. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Purpose
The role of mass media in promoting social norms surrounding contraceptive use among adolescents in developing countries has not received much attention. Hence, program planners have little guidance on how to design media messages that take advantage of existing social norms in promoting contraceptive use.
Methods
We analyzed data from the Demographic and Health Surveys in Ethiopia and Tanzania, restricting our sample to 15- to 24 year-old adolescents (N = 6,230 and N = 5,138, respectively). We proposed and tested the hypotheses that collective norms around contraception use would be associated with individual contraception use in that area and that this relationship would be stronger when media use is low, than when media use is high. Logistic regressions were run to predict individual-level contraception use from collective norms for contraception use, media use, and their interaction, controlling for age, urban versus rural location, marital status, wealth, and education, taking into account intraclass correlations within clusters.
Results
Collective norms were associated with individual contraception use in both samples. Media use attenuated the association between collective norms and contraception use in Ethiopia but not in Tanzania. (β = −.22, p = < .01 in Ethiopia and β = −.08, p = .10 in Tanzania).
Conclusions
Mass media can serve as external agents of change to attenuate the impact of collective norms on individual behavior. A deeper examination of how and why media use attenuates the relationship between collective norms and individual contraception use in some subpopulations more than others is warranted.
Social norms have been found to be an important factor in individuals’ health and risk behaviors. Past research has typically addressed which social norms individuals perceive in their social environments (e.g., in their peer group). The present article explores normative social influences beyond such perceptions by applying a multilevel approach and differentiating between perceived norms at the individual level and collective norms at the group level. Data on norms and three road traffic risk behaviors (speeding, driving after drinking, and texting while driving) were obtained from a representative survey among young German car drivers (N = 311 anchor respondents) and their peer groups (overall N = 1,244). Multilevel modeling (MLM) revealed that beyond individual normative perceptions of peers’ behavior and approval, actual collective norms (peers’ actual risk behavior and attitudes) affect individuals’ risk behaviors. Findings are discussed with regard to theorizing normative influences on risk behavior and practical implications.
Social norms, as a topic of inquiry, has garnered significant attention from a variety of perspectives in recent years. Because of the rapidly-growing interest in social norms from scholars in multiple disciplines, this area of scholarship is often characterized by a lack of clarity on what constitutes social norms and how key concepts are operationalized. The objectives of this article are to (a) provide a review of the fast-expanding literature on social norms, (b) delineate similarities and differences in key operational definitions, (c) review theories that explicate how norms affect behaviors, (d) propose a revised theoretical framework that helps organize our understanding of normative influence on behavior and (e) provide suggestions for future research in this area. This review highlights the need to consider whether a behavior is enacted spontaneously or after deliberation. If the former, whichever attitude or norm is most salient will likely have a direct effect on behavior. If the latter, we propose that behavioral, individual, and contextual attributes will influence the extent to which norms shape behavioral intentions and subsequent behavior. Finally, this review highlights the need for more studies designed to test the causal relationship between social norms and behaviors, as well as those that study norms from a qualitative perspective.
We revisit some ideas from our previous article on social norms by conceptualizing norms as dynamic entities that both affect and are affected by human action; elaborating on the distinction between collective and perceived norms; summarizing key findings from studies that have adopted the theory of normative social behavior (TNSB) and thereby proposing guidelines for further expanding the purview of the TNSB; discussing the attribute-centered approach as a framework for focusing on behavioral characteristics; and highlighting areas for further inquiry into social norms.
Research dealing with various aspects of* the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985,
1987) is reviewed, and some unresolved issues are discussed. In broad terms, the theory is
found to be well supported by empirical evidence. Intentions to perform behaviors of different
kinds can be predicted with high accuracy from attitudes toward the behavior, subjective
norms, and perceived behavioral control; and these intentions, together with perceptions of
behavioral control, account for considerable variance in actual behavior. Attitudes, subjective
norms, and perceived behavioral control are shown to be related to appropriate sets of salient
behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about the behavior, but the exact nature of these
relations is still uncertain. Expectancy value formulations are found to be only partly
successful in dealing with these relations. Optimal rescaling of expectancy and value
measures is offered as a means of dealing with measurement limitations. Finally, inclusion of
past behavior in the prediction equation is shown to provide a means of testing the theory*s
sufficiency, another issue that remains unresolved. The limited available evidence concerning
this question shows that the theory is predicting behavior quite well in comparison to the
ceiling imposed by behavioral reliability.
Two experiments examine the interplay of injunctive and descriptive norms on intentions to engage in pro-environmental behavior. In Experiment 1, Australian participants were exposed to supportive or unsupportive group descriptive and injunctive norms about energy conservation. Results revealed that a conflict between the group-level injunctive and descriptive norm was associated with weaker behavioral intentions: The beneficial effects of a supportive injunctive norm were undermined when presented with an unsupportive descriptive norm. Experiment 2 replicated this effect in both a Western (UK) and non-Western (China) context, and found that the extent to which norms were aligned or not determined intentions even after controlling for attitudes, perceptions of control, and interpersonal-level injunctive and descriptive norms. These experiments demonstrate that conflict between injunctive and descriptive norms leads to weaker intentions to engage in pro-environmental behavior, highlighting the need to consider the interplay between injunctive and descriptive norms to understand how norms influence behavioral intentions.
The aim of the present meta-analysis was to investigate the associations between three types of peer norms –descriptive norms (peer sexual behaviors), injunctive norms (peer sexual attitudes), and peer pressure to have sex– and two adolescent sexual behavior outcomes (sexual activity and sexual risk behavior). Adolescent sexual activity was more strongly associated with descriptive norms (ESrfixed = .40) than with injunctive norms (ESrfixed = .22) or peer pressure (ESrfixed = .10). Compared to the sexual activity outcome, the effect size for descriptive norms (peer sexual risk behavior) for sexual risk behavior was smaller (ESrfixed = .11). Age, gender, peer type, and socio-cultural context significantly moderated these associations. Additional analyses of longitudinal studies suggested that selection effects were stronger than socialization effects. These findings offer empirical support for the conceptual distinction between three types of peer norms and hold important implications for theory, research, and intervention strategies.
Adolescent drivers are at elevated crash risk due to distracted driving behavior (DDB). Understanding parental and peer influences on adolescent DDB may aid future efforts to decrease crash risk. We examined the influence of risk perception, sensation seeking, as well as descriptive and injunctive social norms on adolescent DDB using the theory of normative social behavior.
403 adolescents (aged 16-18 years) and their parents were surveyed by telephone. Survey instruments measured self-reported sociodemographics, DDB, sensation seeking, risk perception, descriptive norms (perceived parent DDB, parent self-reported DDB, and perceived peer DDB), and injunctive norms (parent approval of DDB and peer approval of DDB). Hierarchical multiple linear regression was used to predict the influence of descriptive and injunctive social norms, risk perception, and sensation seeking on adolescent DDB.
92% of adolescents reported regularly engaging in DDB. Adolescents perceived that their parents and peers participated in DDB more frequently than themselves. Adolescent risk perception, parent DDB, perceived parent DDB, and perceived peer DDB were predictive of adolescent DDB in the regression model, but parent approval and peer approval of DDB were not predictive. Risk perception and parental DDB were stronger predictors among males, whereas perceived parental DDB was stronger for female adolescents.
Adolescent risk perception and descriptive norms are important predictors of adolescent distracted driving. More study is needed to understand the role of injunctive normative influences on adolescent DDB. Effective public health interventions should address parental role modeling, parental monitoring of adolescent driving, and social marketing techniques that correct misconceptions of norms related to around driver distraction and crash risk.
Normative restructuring strategies currently under way to combat alcohol-related problems among U.S. college students are based on the idea that students harbor inflated perceptions about the prevalence of drinking on campus and that if these misperceptions can be corrected, then alcohol consumption will decrease. Evidence for the effectiveness of these strategies is lacking, and there is little discussion in the literature about how or why people’s normative beliefs exert influence on their behaviors. The theory of normative social behavior that is proposed in this article includes three mechanisms—injunctive norms, outcome expectations, and group identity—that are hypothesized to moderate the influence of descriptive norms on behavior. This theory is tested through a survey (N = 1,352) conducted among incoming college students. Although all normative mechanisms predicted behavioral intention, four of the six variables also interacted with descriptive norms to influence intention, with relatively smaller effects. Overall, the model was able to predict 63% of the variance in intention to consume alcohol. Implications for health campaigns are discussed.
Past research has generated mixed support among social scientists for the utility of social norms in accounting for human behavior. We argue that norms do have a substantial impact on human action; however, the impact can only be properly recognized when researchers (a) separate 2 types of norms that at times act antagonistically in a situation—injunctive norms (what most others approve or disapprove) and descriptive norms (what most others do)—and (b) focus Ss' attention principally on the type of norm being studied. In 5 natural settings, focusing Ss on either the descriptive norms or the injunctive norms regarding littering caused the Ss' littering decisions to change only in accord with the dictates of the then more salient type of norm. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article extends the theory of normative social behavior by conceptualizing drinking refusal self-efficacy as an important moderator in the relationship between descriptive norms and drinking intentions and behavior. A study was conducted among Korean high school students (N = 538) to assess their normative perceptions, drinking refusal self-efficacy, and drinking intentions. We found a significant association between self-efficacy and drinking intentions and behavior, as well as an interaction effect between self-efficacy and descriptive norms on drinking intentions and behavior. Having stronger efficacy appears to mitigate the harmful effects of descriptive norms on drinking intentions and behavior. Implications for school-based interventions are also discussed.
This article identifies four factors for consideration in norms-based research to enhance the predictive ability of theoretical models. First, it makes the distinction between perceived and collective norms and between descriptive and injunctive norms. Second, the article addresses the role of important moderators in the relationship between descriptive norms and behaviors, including outcome expectations, group identity, and ego involvement. Third, it discusses the role of both interpersonal and mass communication in normative influences. Lastly, it outlines behavioral attributes that determine susceptibility to normative influences, including behavioral ambiguity and the public or private nature of the behavior.
Social norms are sustained and disseminated, both implicitly and explicitly, through the act of communication. As a result, communication researchers have sought to classify and target normative perceptions to enact social change. In line with this research, the current study investigated whether perceptions of past normative behavior, referred to here as historical norms, were significantly related to current behavior. Using the theory of normative behavior as a guiding framework, two studies were conducted to assess whether college student drinking behavior was related to one of two perceived historical drinking norms measures: historical consumption norms (i.e., the perceived percentage of students who drank over time) and historical tradition norms (i.e., the perception of drinking as a university tradition). Study 1 revealed that although historical consumption norms was not directly related to drinking behavior, it moderated the effect of descriptive norms on drinking behavior (p = .03). A full assessment of the theory of normative social behavior was conducted in study 2 to determine whether perceived historical drinking norms influenced behavior above and beyond both descriptive and injunctive norms. Findings demonstrated that historical tradition norms were significantly related to drinking behavior (p = .001), and marginally moderated the relationship between descriptive norms and drinking behavior (p = .09). These findings offer preliminary evidence in support of measuring perceived historical drinking norms in future campaigns and interventions designed to reduce drinking behavior.
To examine the prevalence and correlates of drinking and driving in Hong Kong, an anonymous, random telephone survey was conducted on 9860 Chinese adults (18-70 years of age) from April to June 2006. Trained interviewers administered a structured interview consisting of questions on socio-demographic information, drinking pattern, drink-driving, and motor vehicle accidents. The census age-standardized past-year prevalence of driving within 2h of drinking was 5.2% among males and 0.8% among females. The prevalence across age showed an inverted U-shaped trend for males peaking at 8.2% between 41 and 45 years. For females the prevalence was fairly stable between the ages of 20 and 55. The past-year prevalence of alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents was 0.1%, with the majority being in the 26-30 age group. For males who drank, the prevalence of drinking and driving was 5.0% among those without problem drinking, 14.8% among binge drinkers, 37.1% among alcohol abusers and 22.4% among the alcohol dependent. For females who drank, the corresponding figures were all lower at 1.2%, 6.9%, 12.1% and 12.5%, respectively. Higher socio-economic status, weekly drinking, binge drinking and alcohol abuse were independently associated with higher likelihood of drinking and driving in both genders. Among drinking drivers, having a job that required drinking was the only predictor of having had a motor vehicle accident. The elevated prevalence of drinking and driving among alcohol abusers, binge drinkers and the alcohol dependent may portend higher population-level rates of alcohol-related motor accidents in the future since the prevalence of problem drinking has previously been noted to be increasing rapidly in Hong Kong.
This research examined the relationships among perceived social norms, social outcome expectancies, and marijuana use and related consequences among entering college freshman marijuana users. Students (N = 312, 55% female) completed online assessments of their marijuana use, related consequences, perceived norms, and social expectancies related to marijuana use. Results suggested that perceptions of friends' marijuana use were most strongly associated with marijuana use (d = 0.68), in comparison with perceived injunctive norms (d = 0.30) or expectancies (d = 0.19), and that the perception that other students used marijuana more frequently was more strongly associated with use among students who also perceived other students as more approving of marijuana. In addition, the relationships between perceived descriptive and injunctive norms and marijuana use were stronger among students who reported more positive social marijuana expectancies. Descriptive norms and expectancies were both positively associated with marijuana-related consequences, but, at high levels of both of these variables, injunctive norms were negatively associated with consequences. Results highlight the importance of distinguishing between descriptive and injunctive norms and between marijuana use and related consequences.
In this article, we attempt to distinguish between the properties of moderator and mediator variables at a number of levels. First, we seek to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating, both conceptually and strategically, the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ. We then go beyond this largely pedagogical function and delineate the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena, including control and stress, attitudes, and personality traits. We also provide a specific compendium of analytic procedures appropriate for making the most effective use of the moderator and mediator distinction, both separately and in terms of a broader causal system that includes both moderators and mediators.
Numerous theories in social and health psychology assume that intentions cause behaviors. However, most tests of the intention- behavior relation involve correlational studies that preclude causal inferences. In order to determine whether changes in behavioral intention engender behavior change, participants should be assigned randomly to a treatment that significantly increases the strength of respective intentions relative to a control condition, and differences in subsequent behavior should be compared. The present research obtained 47 experimental tests of intention-behavior relations that satisfied these criteria. Meta-analysis showed that a medium-to-large change in intention (d = 0.66) leads to a small-to-medium change in behavior (d = 0.36). The review also identified several conceptual factors, methodological features, and intervention characteristics that moderate intention-behavior consistency.
Past research on the social identity approach to attitude-behaviour relations has operationalized group norms as a mixture of both descriptive information (i.e. what most people do themselves) and injunctive information (i.e. what most people approve of). Two experiments (Study 1=185 participants; Study 2=238 participants) were conducted to tease apart the relative effects of descriptive and injunctive group norms. In both studies, university students' attitudes towards current campus issues were obtained, the descriptive and injunctive group norms were manipulated, and participants' post-manipulation attitudes, behavioural willingness, and behaviour were assessed. Study 2 also examined the role of norm source (i.e. in-group vs. out-group injunctive and descriptive norms). In both studies, the injunctive and descriptive in-group norms interacted significantly to influence attitudes, behavioural willingness, and behaviour. Study 2 revealed that out-group norms were largely ineffective. The research illustrates that in-groups interactively influence decisions, not only by what they say, but also by what they do, and asserts the value of considering the interaction of descriptive and injunctive norms in accounts of normative influence.
Informed by the theory of normative social behavior, this article sought to determine the underlying mediating and moderating factors in the relationship between descriptive norms and behavioral intentions. Furthermore, the theory was extended by asking whether and what role behavioral identity played in normative influences. Simulating the central message of norms-based interventions to reduce college students' alcohol consumption, in this field experiment, descriptive norms were manipulated by informing half of the students (n = 665) that their peers consumed less alcohol than they might believe. Others (n = 672) were not provided any norms information. students' injunctive norms, outcome expectations, group identity, behavioral identity, and behavioral intention surrounding alcohol consumption were then measured. Exposure to the low-norms information resulted in a significant drop in estimates of the prevalence of consumption. Injunctive norms and outcome expectations partially mediated and also moderated the relationship between descriptive norms and behavioral intentions. Group identity and behavioral identity also moderated the relationship between descriptive norms and behavioral intentions, but the effect size was relatively small for group identity. Implications for health campaigns are also discussed.
Globally, more adolescents die from road traffic fatalities than from any other cause, and males are significantly more vulnerable than females. Driver education interventions directed at males are less likely to succeed than those directed at females, and stronger optimistic bias and overconfidence bias have been implicated as likely reasons. We report results from a quasi-experiment conducted in Serbia, targeting male and female adolescents. Stratified by size, forty schools were randomly assigned to either a personal-narrative intervention or a no-intervention control arm. Data were collected before the intervention (N = 1449) and again six months later (N = 1072). Risk perceptions improved for both males and females, and injunctive norms improved for females. Improvements in overconfidence bias and descriptive norms were predictive of improvements in high-risk driving behaviors. A significant interaction between improvements in injunctive norms and the intervention revealed that males whose injunctive norms improved were significantly more likely to be affected by the intervention, compared to the other groups. Implications for interventions are discussed.
Evidence has indicated that drivers with higher sensation-seeking scores had higher rates of risky behaviors, such as driving while intoxicated and driving at high speeds. Using a convenience sampling method, 361 car-drivers were recruited in …, Iran. To collect data in this cross-sectional descriptive study, the demographic questionnaire, Zukerman's Sensation-Seeking Scale (SSS), and the Manchester Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) were used. The results showed a significant positive relationship between sensation-seeking and dangerous driving behaviors (r = 0.79, p < 0.001). There were significant relationships between participants' dangerous driving behaviors and age, marital status, years of education, and history of accidents (p ≤ 0.05). Our results showed that driver-related factors, including sensation-seeking, predicted dangerous driving behaviors in a population with high risks of accidents. Among the four subscales of sensation-seeking, the partial correlations between two subscales—adventure-seeking and boredom susceptibility—and dangerous driving behaviors were significant.
Background:
With the proliferation of new mobile and in-vehicle technologies, understanding the motivations behind a driver's voluntary engagement with such technologies is crucial from a safety perspective, yet is complex. Previous literature either surveyed a large number of distractions that may be diverse, or too focuses on one particular activity, such as cell phone use. Further, earlier studies about social-psychological factors underlying driver distraction tend to focus on one or two factors in-depth, and those that examine a more comprehensive set of factors are often limited in their analyses methods.
Objective:
The present work considers a wide array of social-psychological factors within a structural equation model to predict their influence on a focused set of technology-based distractions. A better understanding of these facilitators can enhance the design of distraction mitigation strategies.
Method:
We analysed survey responses about three technology-based driver distractions: holding phone conversations, manually interacting with cell phones, and adjusting the settings of in-vehicle technology, as well as responses on five social-psychological factors: attitude, descriptive norm, injunctive norm, technology inclination, and a risk/sensation seeking personality. Using data collected from 525 drivers (ages: 18-80), a structural equation model was built to analyse these social-psychological factors as latent variables influencing self-reported engagement in these three technology-based distractions.
Results:
Self-reported engagement in technology-based distractions was found to be largely influenced by attitudes about the distractions. Personality and social norms also played a significant role, but technology inclination did not. A closer look at two age groups (18-30 and 30+) showed that the effect of social norms, especially of injunctive norm (i.e., perceived approvals), was less prominent in the 30+ age group, while personality remained a significant predictor for the 30+ age group but marginally significant for the younger group.
Conclusion:
Findings from this work provide insights into the social-psychological factors behind intentional engagement in technology-based distractions and in particular suggesting that these factors may be sensitive to demographic differences.
Red-Light-Running (RLR) is the major cause of severe injury crashes at signalized intersections for both China and the US. As several studies have been conducted to identify the influencing factors of RLR behavior in the US, no similar studies exist in China. To fill this gap, this study was conducted to identify the key factors that affect RLR and compare the contributing factors between US and China. Data were collected through field observations and video recordings; four intersections in Shanghai were selected as the study sites. Both RLR drivers and comparison drivers, who had the opportunity to run the light but did not, were identified. Based on the collected data, preliminary analyses were firstly conducted to identify the features of the RLR and comparison groups. It was determined that: around 57% of RLR crossed the stop line during the 0–0.4 second time interval after red-light onset, and the numbers of red light violators decreased as the time increased; among the RLR vehicles, 38% turned left and 62% went straight; and at the onset of red, about 88% of RLR vehicles were in the middle of a vehicle platoon. Furthermore, in order to compare the RLR group and non-RLR group, two types of logistic regression models were developed. The ordinary logistic regression model was developed to identify the significant variables from the aspects of driver characteristics, driving conditions, and vehicle types. It was concluded that RLR drivers are more likely to be male, have local license plates, and are driving passenger vehicles but without passengers. Large traffic volume also increased the likelihood of RLR. However, the ordinary logistic regression model only considers influencing factors at the vehicle level: different intersection design and signal settings may also have impact on RLR behaviors. Therefore, in order to account for unobserved heterogeneity among different types of intersections, a random effects logistic regression model was adopted. Through the model comparisons, it has been identified that the model goodness-of-fit was substantially improved through considering the heterogeneity effects at intersections. Finally, benefits of this study and the analysis results were discussed.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to apply a group norm approach to explain how average engagement across an organization is related to an individual’s level of engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
– Survey data were collected from over 46,000 participants from 140 organizations. Multi-level analysis tested the hypotheses that similarity (in terms of shared status) and likely interaction would determine the extent a group’s norms affected individual engagement. Normative data and the dependent variable data were provided by different participants.
Findings
– Results supported the aggregation of individuals’ measure of engagement to form three norms within an organization: an employee norm, a manager norm and a senior leader norm. These engagement norms were significantly related to an individual’s engagement at work beyond the effect of both organizational resources and manager support. Individuals were more strongly influenced by the norm of those in the organization with whom they were most similar and with whom they were likely to interact.
Originality/value
– Provides evidence that engagement exists at the group level and that status groups within the organization have norms that independently affect individual-level engagement.
The Centers for Disease Control reports that motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) are the leading cause of injury and death among U.S. teenagers, and disproportionately affect males. Among preventable causes of MVCs involving teenage drivers, distracted driving continues to be a serious public health problem.
To describe gender differences in teenage drivers' self-perceptions of safe driving behaviors, and self-reported risk behaviors and distractions while driving.
We prospectively surveyed teenage drivers from four high schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Gender comparisons were made between self-reported perceptions and self-reported driving behaviors. Descriptive statistics and chi-squared testing were used in data analyses; significance was set at p < 0.05.
Seven hundred fifty-six high school teenage drivers completed surveys. Males (52%) and females (48%) were equally distributed; 32% of males reported that they were extremely safe drivers, whereas only 18% of females reported that they were extremely safe drivers (p < 0.001). Significantly more females (91%) compared to males (77%) reported always wearing their seatbelts (p < 0.001). Female drivers were more likely than male drivers to self-report that they always make their passengers wear a seat belt (76% vs. 63%, p < 0.001). A higher proportion of males reported using their cell phones while driving, compared to females (68% vs. 56%, p = 0.004), and 42% of males reported texting while driving, compared to 34% of females (p = 0.037).
Teenage male drivers perceive themselves to be safe drivers, but report engaging in more distracted driving and risky behaviors compared to females. These results suggest that there is an opportunity for gender-specific educational and injury prevention programs for teen drivers.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Objective:
Viet Nam is experiencing a shift in its burden of disease profile with injuries becoming more prominent. A history of high alcohol involvement in road traffic crashes despite stringent laws led to increased enforcement by police, enhanced public education messaging and targeted social marketing campaigns in Ha Nam and Ninh Binh provinces in Viet Nam. This study aims to illustrate the changes in prevalence (November 2010 to December 2011) and knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) around alcohol use and drink-driving for the year 2011.
Methods:
Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC) was collected through police enforcement checkpoints in the two provinces. The proportion of drivers with BrAC above the legal limit was plotted over time for both provinces. The trend in prevalence of drink-driving over time was further assessed using Poisson regression models. Prevailing KAPs were determined through surveying randomly selected road users over the age of 17 years at gas stations at quarterly intervals. Cross tabulations of key variables as well Chi-Square statistic were used to assess associations.
Results:
A total of 8,404 drivers were tested for BrAC levels of which less than 0.25% were female. Of 1,639 drivers displaying BrAC levels in excess of the legal limit, 87.3% were car drivers, 7.9% motorcyclists and 86% were between the ages of 25 and 44 years. KAP surveys captured 1,661 drivers over the study period. The prevalence of self-reported drink-driving increased 6 percentage points among respondents aged 27-36. Between 44% (January 2011) and 49% (December 2011) of respondents indicated awareness of a drinking and driving Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) or BrAC limit and only 25% of all study participants recalled being penalized for a traffic violation - none of which were for drink-driving.
Conclusion:
While there has been some reduction in drink-driving prevalence, inadequate or incorrect knowledge on drink-driving legislation appears to be an impediment to greater gains. Increased attention needs to be paid to enforcement activities and social marketing campaigns need to be part of a multi-faceted programme that also works on improving existing legislation, takes into consideration gender issues, and enhances visible enforcement of the laws.
In this introduction to the special issue on applications of multilevel modeling (MLM) to communication research, we provide a conceptual overview of the benefits of MLM—the ability to simultaneously analyze data collected at multiple levels, the ease with which it can be used to assess trends and change over time, and its incorporation of the nested structure of data in the estimation process. We highlight ways in which MLM can be used to further theory and research in communication. In addition, we comment on the applications of MLM highlighted in this special issue and echo past calls for more multilevel theorizing and analysis in the field of communication.
Data from surveys of students representing 100 diverse college campuses were used to investigate the difference between the self-reported frequency of a drug's use and students' perceptions of the frequency of use. Students were asked about the frequency of their own use of 11 drugs (alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, sedatives, hallucinogens, opiates, inhalants, designer drugs, and steroids) and how often they thought "the average student" on their campus used these drugs. Respondents typically misperceived their peer norms (designated as the median of self-reported use) by substantially overestimating how often the average student used each drug, both in campus samples where abstinence or infrequent use were the median of self-reports and in samples where the median of self-reports revealed more frequent use. To the extent that they may promote or reinforce students' actual use, these misperceptions should be considered in designing college drug prevention programs.
We reviewed the existing empirical literature to assess cognitive and situational factors that may affect the validity of adolescents' self-reports of alcohol and other drug use, tobacco use, behaviors related to unintentional injuries and violence, dietary behaviors, physical activity, and sexual behavior. Specifically, we searched for peer-reviewed journal articles published in 1980 or later that examined the factors affecting self-report of the six categories of behavior listed above. We also searched for studies describing objective measures for each behavior. Self-reports of each of six types of health-risk behaviors are affected by both cognitive and situational factors. These factors, however, do not threaten the validity of self-reports of each type of behavior equally. The importance of assessing health-risk behaviors as part of research activities involving adolescents necessitates the use of self-report measures. Researchers should familiarize themselves with the threats to validity inherent in this type of assessment and design research that minimizes these threats as much as possible.
Social norms are a key determinant of young adult drinking, yet little research has evaluated potential interactive effects among different types of norms. The present research was designed to evaluate perceptions of friends' approval of drinking (i.e., injunctive norms) as a moderator of the relationship between perceived prevalence of friends' drinking (i.e., descriptive norms) and personal alcohol consumption. We also evaluated whether social drinking motives further influence this relationship.
Participants included 1,400 first-year college students (61% women) who completed Web-based assessments of descriptive and injunctive norms, personal drinking, and social drinking motives.
Results revealed that both descriptive and injunctive norms regarding close friends were uniquely and positively associated with drinking behavior. The relationship between perceived descriptive norms and personal alcohol consumption was stronger among those who also perceived their friends as being more approving of drinking but only among students who reported stronger social motives for drinking.
Descriptive and injunctive norms are distinct constructs and are not interchangeable, having both unique and interactive effects, and vary as a function of social motives. Results are considered in terms of their implications for brief interventions.
Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Sage
- L S Aiken
- S G West
- R R Reno