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

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  • Dimant, Eugen

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Dimant, Eugen, 2023. "Beyond average: A method for measuring the tightness, looseness, and polarization of social norms," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:233:y:2023:i:c:s0165176523004433
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2023.111417
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pietro Guarnieri & Lorenzo Spadoni, 2024. "Norms and anti-coordination: elicitation and priming in an El Farol Bar Game experiment," Discussion Papers 2024/303, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Distribution; Norm elicitation; Social norms; Tight and loose norms;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C9 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments
    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D9 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics

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