Hiding in Plain Sites: The Role of Implied Descriptive Norms on Littering Behavior
type: CreativeWork
description: The dissertation builds on prior research highlighting the importance of descriptive norms on littering behavior (Bergquist et al., 2021; Cialdini et al., 1990). Previous research has shown that people are more likely to litter into already littered environments than into sites free of litter. There is contradictory research on the impact of a single piece of litter in an environment, the effects of posted anti-littering messages, and whether individuals perceive the influence of the descriptive norm. The dissertation is a series of three studies designed to replicate and extend prior research on the influence of descriptive social norms on littering behavior. The first study was a replication and extension of Bergquist and colleagues’ (2021) replication of Cialdini and colleagues’ (1990) studies. Drawing on the Prolific cloud research panel, participants viewed four videos (all pictures either clean, a single piece of litter, or fully littered) across four sites (one each from a post office, parking garage, park, and supermarket). Participants then answered questions about litter salience, the descriptive norm, the injunctive norm, behavioral intentions, and underdetection. Results indicated higher salience in the fully littered and single piece of litter conditions, than in the clean environment. The descriptive norm was weaker in the one-piece litter environment and clean environments compared to the fully-littered environment. In Study 2, Prolific participants viewed a series of two videos (all pictures either clean, a single piece of litter, or fully littered) across two sites (parking garage or post office) with either a sign indicating the anti-littering norm or no sign. Study 2 had similar results to Study 1 in regards to salience of the anti-littering norm, the descriptive and injunctive norms, behavioral intention, and underdetection. Additionally, there was no effect of the anti-littering sign in either the post office or parking garage condition. In Stud…
abstract: The dissertation builds on prior research highlighting the importance of descriptive norms on littering behavior (Bergquist et al., 2021; Cialdini et al., 1990). Previous research has shown that people are more likely to litter into already littered environments than into sites free of litter. There is contradictory research on the impact of a single piece of litter in an environment, the effects of posted anti-littering messages, and whether individuals perceive the influence of the descriptive norm. The dissertation is a series of three studies designed to replicate and extend prior research on the influence of descriptive social norms on littering behavior. The first study was a replication and extension of Bergquist and colleagues’ (2021) replication of Cialdini and colleagues’ (1990) studies. Drawing on the Prolific cloud research panel, participants viewed four videos (all pictures either clean, a single piece of litter, or fully littered) across four sites (one each from a post office, parking garage, park, and supermarket). Participants then answered questions about litter salience, the descriptive norm, the injunctive norm, behavioral intentions, and underdetection. Results indicated higher salience in the fully littered and single piece of litter conditions, than in the clean environment. The descriptive norm was weaker in the one-piece litter environment and clean environments compared to the fully-littered environment. In Study 2, Prolific participants viewed a series of two videos (all pictures either clean, a single piece of litter, or fully littered) across two sites (parking garage or post office) with either a sign indicating the anti-littering norm or no sign. Study 2 had similar results to Study 1 in regards to salience of the anti-littering norm, the descriptive and injunctive norms, behavioral intention, and underdetection. Additionally, there was no effect of the anti-littering sign in either the post office or parking garage condition. In Stud…
author: Dear-Ferguson, Stasie Danial
keywords: Behavioral intentions, Littering behavior, Manipulation, Salience, Social norms, Psychology
date published: 2025-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:41:17Z
provider: Claremont Graduate University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Claremont Graduate University