W10: Social influence

What were the reported beliefs regarding the influence of social norms as a motive in energy savings in California?

It is the lowest among all other motives; least powerful motivator

What were the actual tested influence of messages communicating social norms in energy consumption?

Social norms:

• Reduced energy consumption the most

• Most effective in inducing conservation behaviour

What is the mistake that communicators often make when trying to motivate/convince people?

Assuming that the best convincing method is to focus on the merits of the plan

Eg. “conserving resources will help you save the environment/save money”

Why is capitalising on social norms effective?

As people often conform to the majority or their peer’s behaviours, even though they don’t always recognise the power of peer influence

Social norms in marketing (no definition)

In informercials, what does these two messaging imply, and what impact does it have on the sales?

1. “Operators are standing by, please call now”

2. “If operators are busy, please call again”

1. Workers are very free, products are not popular → little sales

2. There is a long waiting time, products are popular and in high demand → higher sales

What do social norms play a significant role in? And when does it work best?

Gift giving and exchange

and work best when people learn that others comply

Eg. Valentine’s Day, 11.11, Pepero day, Black day

Experiment: Using social norms in boosting towel reuse in hotels (no definition)

What was the change in towel reuse rate when using a social norm message compared to a standard environmental message?

Boosted reuse rates by 20%

What further enhanced the reuse rates?

When it specifically mentioned “the guests who stayed in THIS particular room” (the room number)

How did that enhance the effect of social norm messaging even more?

It induced greater similarity (you are also a guest staying in this room), and the more similar a reference group is to you, the more powerful the social norm effect; greater compliance

Based on that, what is one important note when conveying social norms?

We must convey social norms that most closely match the environment and circumstances of the target audience

What is the backfire effect of social norms called?

The “Magnetic Middle” role of social norms or “boomerang effect”

Eg. energy consumption: even though it pulls higher-than-avg energy consumers down to the norm, it also pulls lower-than-avg consumers UP to the norm

What are these social norms called?

Negative social norms

When will a preventive strategy turn promotional instead?

When you state how widespread the undesirable behaviour is (even though you are discouraging it)

Eg. many past visitors have removed petrified wood from the park…” → increased % of theft instead

Why is that so?

It inadvertently tells people that the undesirable behaviour is normal and common, which makes people more likely to do it

Under what circumstance will this communication strategy be effective?

When you want to encourage a desirable action; induce a positive social norm

What is NOT an effective strategy for this case?

Using threats

What are two groups of target audiences that requires a difference in strategy adoption?

• Purse-holders (funders, policy-makers): emphasise the prevalence → to get them to contribute resources/funding/staffing

• General public: don’t emphasise prevalence → prevent negative social norm

What is the difference between descriptive and injunctive norms?

Descriptive	Injunctive
What other people do	What other people would approve or disapprove of
Eg. friends using sleeping pills	Eg. friends condoning the use of sleeping pills

What unintended effects do descriptive norms produce?

Magnetic middle effects

How do you overcome/eliminate this?

Introduce injunctive norms that signal approval or disapproval

Example: How is this applied in SG’s standard utilities bill?

• Descriptive: average neighbour consumption

• Injunctive: Labels like “Almost there” & “Keep trying”

What are the 3 distinct effects of social-norm messages based on the reading?

1. Constructive (intended reducing effect)

2. Destructive (unintended “boomerang effect”)

3. Reconstructive (eliminating boomerang effect through injunctive norms)

Using norms, what is the most effective intervention to eg. reduce water usage?

Combining BOTH descriptive norms and injunctive norms

What are the two causes of misperceiving social norms?

1. Pluralistic ignorance

2. False consensus

What is pluralistic ignorance?

When majority of group members privately reject a norm, but falsely assume that most others accept it, hence they publicly conform

What is false consensus effects?

Tendency for people to overestimate the extent to which their opinions, beliefs, preferences are typical and shared by others

Reading notes

What two “worlds” are we governed by?

Social norms and market norms

What does the research show about social norms as motivators compared to money?

Social norms can be more powerful and cheaper motivators than money

What happens when a social relationship is transformed into a market transaction?

Once it is transformed, it is very difficult to go back.