Glossary
Social norm
What is a social norm?
A social norm concerns behavior expected or accepted within a group. Descriptive norms concern what people do. Injunctive norms concern what people approve or disapprove of. What people believe about a norm can differ from the actual behavior or approval.
Example: the boomerang effect
Schultz and colleagues tested household energy feedback. Information about average neighborhood use reduced consumption among higher users but increased it among lower users. Adding approval or disapproval feedback prevented the unwanted increase in that experiment.
Why it matters
A message about what is normal can tell someone using less energy that there is room to use more. The comparison group, starting behavior, message, and outcome matter. Measure the effects across recipients instead of assuming everyone will move in the desired direction.
Informational influence concerns treating others' behavior as evidence of what is correct. That differs from responding to their approval.