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The Impact of Laws on Norms Perceptions
Léïla Eisner1,2, Felicity Turner-Zwinkels3, Dario Spini1,2
1University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|October 6, 2020
Summary
People often misperceive societal norms regarding sexual minorities due to pluralistic ignorance. While laws can shift these perceptions, the underlying ignorance may persist, showing laws
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- Societal tolerance towards minority groups can change without public awareness.
- Pluralistic ignorance, where individuals misperceive group norms, affects perceptions of societal attitudes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate perceptions of societal norms towards sexual minorities.
- To examine the influence of legal changes on these perceptions.
- To understand the resilience of pluralistic ignorance.
Main Methods:
- Quasi-representative survey (N=830) assessing perceptions of societal norms.
- Natural experiment (N=437) examining the impact of a new law on perceptions.
Main Results:
- Study 1 revealed participants overestimated societal disapproval of same-sex issues (pluralistic ignorance).
- Study 2 showed informing participants about a law legalizing stepchild adoption reduced perceived disapproval of same-sex parenting.
- Pluralistic ignorance was not significantly affected by the new law in Study 2.
Conclusions:
- Societal laws can alter perceptions of norms, influencing public opinion.
- Pluralistic ignorance regarding sexual minorities may be resistant to change, even with legal advancements.
- Laws have a dual effect: altering legal status and reshaping perceived societal norms.
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