Understanding the Influence of Perceived Norms on Behaviors

Rajiv N. Rimal · Kevin J. Real

584 citations0/0 files storedCommunication Theory

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Behavioral Health and Interventions Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes Media Influence and Health

Abstract

Although a number of studies demonstrate the impact of perceived norms on human behavior, we know little about how this relation works. Extant norms-based campaigns to reduce alcohol consumption among U.S. college students fail to distinguish between descriptive and injunctive norms. In this article, we make this distinction, and we develop a model of normative influences that also includes the impact of group identity and communication patterns on students' alcohol consumption. Based on a survey of college students (N= 353), we found that descriptive and injunctive norms were different in terms of their impact on behavior. Furthermore, the inclusion of group identity and communication patterns significantly added to the explanatory power of our model. Overall, we were able to explain roughly 53% of the variance in consumption.

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References

1975Belief, Attitude, Intention and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research 1980Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior 1978Social Learning Theory.1957A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance 1981The Evolution of Cooperation 2017A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance 2004The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior 1984The Health Belief Model: A Decade Later

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2006Social Identity, Self-Categorization, and the Communication of Group Norms 2016Social norms: A review 2014About Gender Differences and the Social Environment in the Development of Entrepreneurial Intentions 2012Why are religious people happy? The effect of the social norm of religiosity across countries 2008Modeling the Relationship Between Descriptive Norms and Behaviors: A Test and Extension of the Theory of Normative Social Behavior (TNSB)∗2008Do as we say and as we do: The interplay of descriptive and injunctive group norms in the attitude–behaviour relationship

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