Why people follow rules

Abstract

Why people follow rules, especially laws and social norms, is debated across the human sciences. The importance of intrinsic respect for rules is particularly controversial. To reveal the behavioural principles of rule-following, we develop CRISP, an interdisciplinary framework that explains rule-conformity C as a function of intrinsic respect for rules R, extrinsic incentives I, social expectations S and social preferences P. We deploy CRISP in four series of online experiments with 14,034 English-speaking participants. In our baseline experiments, 55–70% of participants conform to an arbitrary costly rule, even though they act anonymously and alone, and violations hurt no one. We show that people expect rule-conformity and view it as socially appropriate. Rule-breaking is contagious but remains moderate. Pro-social motives and extrinsic incentives increase rule-conformity, but unconditional rule-following and social expectations explain most of it. Our results demonstrate that respect for rules and social expectations are basic elements of rule-conformity that can explain why people follow laws and social norms even without extrinsic incentives and social preferences.