Norms Message Features in an Alcohol Consumption Context: Testing the Roles of Functional Matching and Numeracy

The current study tested a theoretical account of how and when norms message features influence attitudes and intentions. Specifically, we examined whether functional matching and numeracy help to explain variation in persuasive outcomes following exposure to norms messaging. We executed two experiments to test our functional matching and numeracy assumptions in the context of alcohol consumption. Across both studies, our functional matching assumption was not supported. In Study 2, numeracy moderated the impact of descriptive norms message content on intentions to engage in heavy drinking, such that message exposure was associated with reduced drinking intentions among participants with greater levels of numeracy. In sum, the findings provided some evidence that the functional attitude approach lacked theoretical utility and that numeracy dictated the effect of norms message exposure on intentions.