The Constructive and Destructive Power of Social Norms in the Presence of Authoritative Influence

Abstract

A randomized survey experiment (N = 2,868) was conducted at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to examine the effects of information provision on individuals’ cooperation with stay-home activities. Employing a 2 × 2 factorial design, the study examined the influence of social comparison and a powerful messenger. Using an online sample of approximately 3,000 Japanese respondents, it was found that participants demonstrated greater cooperation with stay-home activities when they perceived that they had spent a relatively long time outside the home compared with prevailing social norms in the previous week. Conversely, individuals who spent a relatively short time outside the home exhibited the opposite effect. However, these results were observed solely in conjunction with the influence of a powerful messenger. The study also explored heterogeneous responses based on personality traits. In conclusion, the results highlight the challenges of changing behavior through informational interventions, emphasizing the role of both the characteristics of the sender and recipient of the information.