Descriptive norms can "backfire" in hyper-polarized contexts

David G Rand1, Erez Yoeli1

  • 1Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 100 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.

PNAS Nexus
|October 16, 2024
PubMed
Summary

Social norm interventions can backfire in polarized contexts. Learning about outgroup behavior, like mask-wearing during COVID-19, unexpectedly increased mask intention among Biden supporters when Trump supporters did not wear masks.

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