Challenging the Status Quo through Social Influence
| Autor: | Judith I. M. de Groot, Iljana Schubert, Adrian C. Newton |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Research Programme Marketing |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
social networks
030309 nutrition & dietetics Status quo media_common.quotation_subject Geography Planning and Development GREEN TJ807-830 010501 environmental sciences Management Monitoring Policy and Law TD194-195 01 natural sciences Renewable energy sources 03 medical and health sciences Social norms approach Sustainable consumption GE1-350 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Social influence media_common Consumption (economics) 0303 health sciences Social network Environmental effects of industries and plants Renewable Energy Sustainability and the Environment business.industry Social change sustainability injunctive and descriptive norms Environmental sciences Sustainability sustainable food consumption DESCRIPTIVE NORMS business Psychology Social psychology social influence BEHAVIOR |
| Zdroj: | Sustainability Volume 13 Issue 10 Sustainability, 13(10):5513. MDPI AG Sustainability, Vol 13, Iss 5513, p 5513 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 2071-1050 |
| Popis: | This study examines the influence of social network members (versus strangers) on sustainable food consumption choices to investigate how social influence can challenge the status quo in unsustainable consumption practices. We hypothesized that changes to individual consumption practices could be achieved by revealing ‘invisible’ descriptive and injunctive social norms. We further hypothesized that it matters who reveals these norms, meaning that social network members expressing their norms will have a stronger influence on other’s consumption choices than if these norms are expressed by strangers. We tested these hypotheses in a field experiment (N = 134), where participants discussed previous sustainable food consumption (revealing descriptive norms) and its importance (revealing injunctive norms) with either a stranger or social network member. We measured actual sustainable food consumption through the extent to which participants chose organic over non-organic consumables during the debrief. Findings showed that revealed injunctive norms significantly influenced food consumption, more so than revealed descriptive norms. We also found that this influence was stronger for social network members compared to strangers. Implications and further research directions in relation to how social networks can be used to evoke sustainable social change are discussed. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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