Beyond average: A method for measuring the tightness, looseness, and polarization of social norms

Eugen Dimant

Economics Letters, 2023, vol. 233, issue C

Abstract: Social norms are ubiquitous and understanding what shape they take is a central element of successful behavior change interventions. Existing methods focus on measuring norms in the form of what the average or most frequent behavior/opinion is in a given context. The complementary method presented here offers the ability to measure the distribution of norm-related beliefs at the individual level in an incentive-compatible way, thus offering a helpful tool for informed policymaking and behavior change interventions. This approach intuitively captures the tightness and looseness of norms, addressing scenarios where mean or modal outcomes may conceal underlying variations. This paper is accompanied by ready-made Qualtrics software to enhance the practical application of this method.

Keywords: Distribution; Norm elicitation; Social norms; Tight and loose norms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C9 D01 D9 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:233:y:2023:i:c:s0165176523004433

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2023.111417

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