Does the Impact of Norms Vary by Type of Norm and Type of Conservation Behavior? A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Norms can be powerful motivators of conservation behavior. Research has distinguished between subjective or injunctive norms, descriptive norms, and personal norms. To date, there is no clear consensus on the relative influence of these different norms on intentions to engage in different conservation behaviors. We conducted a meta-analysis of 100 articles (142 evaluation contexts) examining links between subjective/injunctive, descriptive, and/or personal norms and behavioral intentions to identify how correlations vary by the type of norm and type of conservation behavior. Adding personal and descriptive norms to behavioral intention models significantly reduced the effect of subjective/injunctive norms on intentions. Personal and descriptive norms had a larger relative influence on intentions and were more often significantly associated with intentions compared to subjective norms. Our review highlights the importance of including all three types of norms in models of conservation behavior intentions.