Norm avoiders

The effect of optional descriptive norms on charitable donations

Bibliographic Data

ID12166286
AuthorsPer A Andersson (0000-0001-7445-2008, JEDILab, Division of Economics, Department of Management and Engineering Linköping University Linköping Sweden, corresponding author), Arvid Erlandsson (0000-0001-7875-269X, Division of Psychology, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning Linköping University Linköping Sweden), Daniel Västfjäll (0000-0003-2873-4500, JEDILab, Division of Economics, Department of Management and Engineering Linköping University Linköping Sweden)
Year2021
Volume35
Issue1
Publication date2021-03-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Behavioral Decision Making (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0894-3257 • E-ISSN: 1099-0771
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/bdm.2244
OpenAlexW3134015771
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited53

Knowing the descriptive norm concerning others' prosociality could affect your behavior, but would you seek out or avoid such knowledge? This high‐powered preregistered experiment explores the effect of both forced and optionally revealed descriptive norms on real monetary donations. These norms were established by learning the proportion of previous participants who had donated to a charitable organization that the respondent now was asked to donate to. For those learning about a norm, participants were more likely to donate if they were shown that a majority donates, compared with if they were shown that a minority donates. For the participants who were asked if they wanted to reveal the norm or not, we found that about half choose to reveal the norm. Those who avoided revealing the norm donated less frequently; both compared with revealers and with those who were forced to view the norm. However, these norm avoiders also donate a higher mean amount. Taken together, this hints at norm avoiders being composed of both altruistic and non‐altruistic people, with fewer of those who are undecided. This type of norm avoidance may be more related to information avoidance motives rather than mere curiosity or reactance. The present findings can inspire further research into the motives of norm avoidance

Curiosity · Epistemology · Norm (philosophy · Political science · Reactance · Respondent · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology