Wandernoth, Marlon (2024) Pushing or Pulling? The Influence of Policy Type on Social Norm Perceptions for Sustainable Transportation Policies. Master thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Perceptions of social norms—informal rules in society describing what is commonly done or (dis)approved—are crucial drivers of sustainable behaviors. Previous studies have shown that institutional signals, such as a new policy, can change social norm perceptions. However, the role of policy type in this process has not yet been investigated. The current study aimed to replicate the signaling effect of policies and examine the role of policy type (push vs. pull policies) in this process. Specifically, it was hypothesized that push policies would send a stronger signal than pull policies and result in greater changes in social norm perceptions. In a pre-registered, online experiment (N = 277) policy type (push vs. pull) of sustainable transportation policies by the Municipality of Groningen was manipulated. The results showed that policies influenced injunctive norm perceptions toward the government but had no significant effect on other social norm perceptions. Additionally, no significant differences were found between push and pull policies in terms of their impact on social norm perceptions. Exploratory analyses revealed that pull policies are perceived as more acceptable than push policies. Furthermore, they are more seen as a gain than push policies, which in turn increases social norm perceptions. The study highlights how policies can signal what the government (dis)approves of. Findings and implications are critically discussed.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
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| Supervisor name: | Jans, L. and Werff, Ellen van der |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Environmental Psychology (EP) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 30 Jul 2024 07:27 |
| Last Modified: | 30 Jul 2024 07:27 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4179 |
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