The DOI matches its Crossref record; 44 of the 46 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A Room with a Viewpoint: Using Social Norms to Motivate Environmental Conservation in Hotels
Abstract
Two field experiments examined the effectiveness of signs requesting hotel guests' participation in an environmental conservation program. Appeals employing descriptive norms (e.g., “the majority of guests reuse their towels”) proved superior to a traditional appeal widely used by hotels that focused solely on environmental protection. Moreover, normative appeals were most effective when describing group behavior that occurred in the setting that most closely matched individuals' immediate situational circumstances (e.g., “the majority of guests in this room reuse their towels”), which we refer to as provincial norms. Theoretical and practical implications for managing proenvironmental efforts are discussed.
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“Goldstein et al. (2008) have also tested whether norms that came from different identities had differing effects on towel reuse. They found that it was the norms that relate to the most relevant and proximal identity—past guests of the participants’ current hotel room – that had the most influence on towel reuse.”
From A Social Identity Analysis of Climate Change and Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors: Insights and Opportunities (2016) · cites this paper as Goldstein et al. (2008)
In the citing paper
“The independent and interactive effects of these norms has been demonstrated in the environmental domain including in relation to littering (Cialdini et al., 1990), towel reuse in hotels (Goldstein et al., 2008), energy conservation behavior (Nolan et al., 2008; Dwyer et al., 2015), recycling behavior (Fornara et al., 2011; Long et al., 2014; Schwab et al., 2014), eco-friendly consumer behavior (K”
From A Social Identity Analysis of Climate Change and Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors: Insights and Opportunities (2016) · cites this paper as Goldstein et al., 2008
In the citing paper
“Notice that many of the experiments just mentioned were field studies, that is, they were conducted in naturalistic contexts ensuring high ecological validity (see Schultz et al. [2007]; Goldstein et al. [2008]; Gerber and Rogers [2009]; Hallsworth et al. [2017]; Sparkman and Walton [2017]).”
From Science Communication and the Problematic Impact of Descriptive Norms (2023) · cites this paper as Goldstein et al. [2008]
In the citing paper
“In another study, hotel guests informed that most people reuse their hotel towels were subsequently significantly more likely to do so than guests given environmental reasons for that action (Goldstein et al. [2008]).”
From Science Communication and the Problematic Impact of Descriptive Norms (2023) · cites this paper as Goldstein et al. [2008]
In the citing paper
“many of the experiments on descriptive norms discussed earlier can in fact be viewed as involving actual instances of PST on their own: they involve public (descriptive-norms conveying) claims by scientific or otherwise authoritative sources about negative features”
From Science Communication and the Problematic Impact of Descriptive Norms (2023) · cites this paper as Goldstein et al. [2008]
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“…describe what most people do in a situation (Cialdini et al., 1990; Reno et al., 1993), and they have been found to influence a range of behaviors (Cialdini et al., 1990; Cialdini et al., 2006; Fischer et al., 2011; Goldstein et al., 2008; Haines & Spear, 1996; Schultz, 1998; Schultz et al., 2007).”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Goldstein, N. J., Cialdini, R. B., & Griskevicius, V.
- Affiliations
- University of Chicago (US)
- Arizona State University (US)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Consumer Research
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2008-03-03
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 472-482
- ISSN
- 0093-5301 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-5277
- OpenAlex
- W2130950828
- Cited by
- 3,409
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 216 · 2025: 270 · 2024: 241 · 2023: 242 · 2022: 208 · 2021: 244 · 2020: 268 · 2019: 228 · 2018: 232 · 2017: 238 · 2016: 188 · 2015: 188 · 2014: 169 · 2013: 131 · 2012: 152
- FWCI
- 198.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Consumer Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Pro-Environmental Behavior and Attitudes
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Environmental Sustainability in Business
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychology of Social Influence
- Keywords
- social norms, descriptive norms, normative appeals, environmental protection, hotels, pro-environmental behavior, situational cues, field experiments
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