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Published on: September 28, 2018
Descriptive norms can "backfire" in hyper-polarized contexts
1Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 100 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
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.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Public Health Interventions
Background:
- Descriptive social norms interventions aim to influence behavior by highlighting common actions.
- Hyper-polarized contexts, such as mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic, may alter norm intervention effectiveness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of descriptive social norms on behavior in a politically polarized context.
- To examine the effect of learning about outgroup behavior on ingroup members' intentions.
- To explore the underlying mechanisms driving social norm effects and potential backfire.
Main Methods:
- Four experiments were conducted, focusing on mask-wearing intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic among Biden supporters.
- Interventions involved informing participants about the mask-wearing behaviors of outgroup members (Trump supporters).
- A control condition examined dishonesty in a coin-flipping task within a non-polarized context.
Main Results:
- A descriptive social norm 'backfire' effect was observed: Biden supporters increased mask-wearing intentions upon learning most Trump supporters did not wear masks.
- This backfire effect was linked to changes in perceptions of ingroup members' disapproval of non-mask-wearing.
- In a non-polarized context, the traditional descriptive norm effect was observed.
Conclusions:
- Descriptive social norm interventions can be counterproductive in highly polarized environments.
- Understanding ingroup-outgroup dynamics is crucial for designing effective behavior change strategies.
- Publicizing outgroup antisocial behavior may be beneficial for promoting prosocial actions in polarized settings.
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