We report a study aimed at understanding the effects of classroom normative influences on individual aggressive behavior, using samples of 614 and 427 urban elementary school children. Participants were assessed with measures of aggressive behavior and normative beliefs about aggression. We tested hypotheses related to the effects of personal normative beliefs, descriptive classroom norms (the ...

As sustainable waste management has become an important environmental concern, growing emphasis is being given to policy tools aimed at increasing recycling behavior by households. Information is a common policy tool, but may not always reach the individuals whose behavior is being targeted, i.e., those reluctant to recycle. This study examined individual differences in attention to recycling i...

Agents interacting in open environments such as Internet are often in charge of personal information. In order to protect the privacy of human users, such agents have to be aware of the normative context regarding personal data protection (applicable laws and other regulations). These privacy-related norms usually refer to deadlines and durations. To represent these regulations, we introduce th...

OBJECTIVE This article provides a review of conceptual and empirical studies on the role of social norms in college student alcohol use and in prevention strategies to counter misuse. The normative influences of various constituencies serving as reference groups for students are examined as possible factors influencing students' drinking behavior. METHOD A review of English language studies w...

Despite decades of research, uncertainty remains about what motivates individuals to engage in pro-environmental behavior. The multifaceted and complex nature of energy conservation, like other forms of pro-environmental behavior, still poses a challenge to efforts at accurately explaining or predicting it. This paper examines the extent to which variables in the value-belief-norm framework are...

For adults, accent is an obvious indicator of a speaker's geographical background. The current study investigated whether preschoolers are sensitive to the relationship between background and accent. Experiment 1 shows that 3- to 5-year-olds believe that two speakers who share the same accent live in the same place but do not share the same personal preferences. Experiment 2 demonstrates that 4...

There is initial evidence that beliefs about the eating behaviour of others (perceived eating norms) can influence children's vegetable consumption, but little research has examined the mechanisms explaining this effect. In two studies we aimed to replicate the effect that perceived eating norms have on children's vegetable consumption, and to explore mechanisms which may underlie the influence...

Taxpayers may justify non-compliant behaviour with the perceived high prevalence (descriptive norm) or high acceptability (injunctive norm) of tax non-compliance in the population. However, their perception may be distorted: their taxpaying behaviour may follow misperceived norms and reflect ‘pluralistic ignorance’. In an experimental questionnaire study focusing on the injunctive norm, psychol...