Oceja Luis, Berenguer Jaime
Departamento de Psicología Social y Metodología. Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
Span J Psychol. 2009 Nov;12(2):657-66. doi: 10.1017/s113874160000202x.
In the present work we test whether the effectiveness of ecological messages may be canceled out when they conflict with the descriptive norm that is salient in the situation. In two studies, participants were unobtrusively observed while performing an ecologically relevant behavior: leaving lights on or off when exiting a public space. The results of Study 1 showed in two different settings (i.e., public washrooms of a university and of a restaurant) the powerful influence of focusing a descriptive norm that refers to such behavior, even when this descriptive norm is not sustained by the injunctive norm. The results of Study 2 showed the overall ineffectiveness of ecological messages when the information in the message was in conflict with the descriptive norm made salient by the context. Additionally, the results of a Follow-up Study suggested that vividness-congruency may increase the effectiveness of the message. Both the theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.
在本研究中，我们测试了当生态信息与情境中突出的描述性规范相冲突时，其有效性是否会被抵消。在两项研究中，参与者在进行与生态相关的行为时被暗中观察：离开公共场所时关灯或不关灯。研究1的结果表明，在两种不同的环境中（即大学和餐厅的公共洗手间），关注此类行为的描述性规范具有强大的影响力，即使这种描述性规范没有得到指令性规范的支持。研究2的结果表明，当信息中的内容与情境中突出的描述性规范相冲突时，生态信息总体上是无效的。此外，一项后续研究的结果表明，生动性一致性可能会提高信息的有效性。我们将讨论这些结果的理论和实际意义。
