Is social norms marketing effective?

Is social norms marketing effective? A case study in domestic electricity consumption

Ever since the foundational work of social psychologists Asch (1987) and Milgram (1974) there has been a great deal of interest in the influence on behaviour of perceptions of ‘normal’. In social marketing, this has led to the development of the social norms approach (Cialdini and Goldstein, 2004), a marketing technique that attempts to influence behaviour by changing perceptions of what is nor...

Done 4: analysis of a failed social norms marketing campaign.

College students commonly believe their peers engage in higher levels of dangerous drinking than is actually the case. Social norms marketing campaigns attempt to correct these misperceptions, decrease the perceived normative pressure to drink, and thereby drive down high-risk alcohol consumption. In this case study, we critically examined "Done 4," an unsuccessful social norms marketing campai...

Social Norms

Social norms and customs shape many economic decisions, but they have not always been at the forefront of economic analysis. Indeed, social influences were more prominently acknowledged by the founders of the discipline than by neoclassical theorists of the last century. J.S. Mill, for example, argued that custom was a potent force in setting the terms of contracts and also the wages paid to la...

Social Norms

Social Norms and Moral Norms Workshop Social Norms and Moral Norms Workshop Welcome Address

Dear Participant, We are very pleased to welcome you at the GATE research institute. This workshop aims at developing scientific discussions about Social Norms and Moral Norms. The objective is to better understand when people are more, or less, likely to act honestly and follow the moral course of action and norms instead of serving their strict self-interest at the others' expense. We are ext...