Descriptive and injunctive norms in college drinking: a meta-analytic integration.
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OBJECTIVE: Many college students overestimate both the drinking behaviors (descriptive norms) and the approval of drinking (injunctive norms) of their peers. As a result, consistent self-other discrepancies (SODs) have been observed, in which self-perceptions of drinking behaviors and approval of drinking usually are lower than comparable judgments of others. These SODs form the foundation of the currently popular "social norms approach" to alcohol abuse prevention, which conveys to students the actual campus norms regarding drinking behaviors and approval of alcohol use. However, little attention has been paid to the factors that can influence the magnitude of SODs. This research was conducted to address these issues. METHOD: This meta-analytic integration of 23 studies evaluated the influence of five predictors of SODs: norm type (injunctive or descriptive), gender, reference group, question specificity and campus size. These studies rendered 102 separate tests of SODs in descriptive and injunctive forms, representing the responses of 53,825 participants. RESULTS: All five predictors were significantly related to self-other differences in the perception of norms. Greater SODs were evident for injunctive norms, estimates by women, distal reference groups and nonspecific questions, as well as on smaller campuses. CONCLUSIONS: More systematic attention should be given to how norms are assessed. In particular, SODs can be maximized or minimized, depending on the specificity of the behaviors/attitudes evaluated and the reference groups chosen for comparison.
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The majority of individuals overestimate the prevalence of many undesirable behaviors, such as alcohol use among peers.
“The majority of individuals overestimate the prevalence of many undesirable behaviors, such as alcohol use among peers (e.g., Borsari & Carey, 2003;Prentice & Miller, 1993)”
From The Constructive, Destructive, and Reconstructive Power of Social Norms (2007) · cites this paper as Borsari & Carey, 2003
Subjects frequently form perceptions of descriptive norms by inferring them from observing others, their comments, and the media, not only from direct summary information.
“Indeed, or other research found that subjects frequently form perceptions of descriptive norms by inferring these norms (often incorrectly) from simply observing others, their comments, and the media (for example, advertisements suggesting pervasiveness of smoking, or drinking; Borsari and Carey [2003]; Nan and Zhao [2016]; Liu and Shi [2019]).”
From Science Communication and the Problematic Impact of Descriptive Norms (2023) · cites this paper as Borsari and Carey [2003]
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“These beliefs lead to subjective norms (Ajzen, 1991), which can further be divided into injunctive and descriptive norms (Borsari & Carey, 2003).”
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Science Communication and the Problematic Impact of Descriptive Norms
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- Authors
- Borsari, B., & Carey, K. B.
- Affiliations
- Syracuse University (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Studies on Alcohol
- Publisher
- Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc.
- Published
- 2003-05
- Volume
- 64
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 331-341
- ISSN
- 0096-882X (ISSN-L)
- 1934-2683
- PMC
- PMC2431131
- OpenAlex
- W2130474878
- Cited by
- 1,224
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 26 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 47 · 2022: 57 · 2021: 75 · 2020: 107 · 2019: 56 · 2018: 70 · 2017: 74 · 2016: 85 · 2015: 75 · 2014: 73 · 2013: 84 · 2012: 54
- FWCI
- 9.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Studies on Alcohol (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (F31AA005571, R01AA12518, F31 AA 05571, R01AA012518)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Media Influence and Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Keywords
- college drinking, social norms, descriptive norms, injunctive norms, self-other discrepancy, alcoholism prevention, peer perception, gender differences, reference groups, alcohol consumption
- MeSH terms
- Alcohol Drinking, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sex Factors, Students, Universities
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