The impact of social norms on intergroup attitudes and behaviors

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

Prejudice, racism, and discrimination represent some of the greatest challenges to a civil society. Ever since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, great efforts have been devoted to combatting and reducing prejudice and discrimination in the United States. Despite the decades-long effort, data show the persistence of these problems. Although many interventions have been developed, very few are supported by rigorous scientific evidence. Among the methods that have undergone at least some evaluation in the field, many appear to be ineffective and some even backfire. Research shows that most mandatory diversity training programs do not have the intended effect and do not create more inclusive environments. This project focuses on a different approach to promoting inclusive behaviors. It relies on the influence of positive descriptive norms. Descriptive norms are one’s perceptions about the beliefs and behaviors of most people. Positive descriptive norm messages communicate the desirable actions of others, such as stating that most of one’s peers strive to be inclusive. Descriptive norms are a good target for interventions because they are relatively easy to influence and because people have a natural desire to belong and be accepted by the social groups with which they identify. The research develops and tests a theoretical model suggesting that positive, but not negative, descriptive norms have beneficial effects for a variety of diversity-related goals. Seven experiments examine the influence of descriptive norms on social climate. Two experiments aim to establish the impact of positive and negative descriptive norms on attitudes and behavior in the context of a university social climate. Two more experiments explore moderators that are hypothesized to increase or decrease the effects of salient descriptive norms. The project concludes with three studies designed to test whether positive descriptive norms have powerful effects on intergroup behavior and other consequential outcomes. One study focuses on developing and establishing the effects of a designed intervention. A second study evaluates the impact of that intervention on students’ classroom behaviors over the course of an entire school term. Outcome measures include observed behaviors, self-reports from members of marginalized groups, grades, and cross-group friendships in social networks. The final experiment delivers a descriptive norm intervention in the context of a national survey of adults. Rather than curbing people's worst possible selves through references to widespread discrimination, this project aims to demonstrate the value of helping people realize their best possible selves through messaging about positive social norms. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.