When and how does normative feedback reduce intentions to drink irresponsibly? An experimental investigation

Abstract

Background: Recognizing that university-based cultures have a critical influence on student drinking, universities have been challenged to take a much more active role in discouraging irresponsible drinking. One way to do so is to use poster campaigns, sometimes designed by students themselves, to encourage students to drink responsibly. However, whether and how such campaigns work is under-investigated. The current research tested the effects of exposure to a student-designed campaign to discourage drinking alcohol drinks down in one gulp (“boltingâ€). Methods: Laboratory experiments assessed the effects of exposure to (1) the campaign (Study 1; N=48), (2) the campaign combined with explicit peer disapproval information (by manipulating injunctive norm in Study 2; N=78), and (3) the campaign and explicit prevalence information (by manipulating descriptive norm; Study 3; N=96) on normative perceptions of bolting and bolting intentions. Findings: Study 1 showed that the campaign had no effect. In Study 2, the campaign was associated with higher, not lower, intentions to bolt drinks, an effect exacerbated by disapproval information. Bootstrapping analyses of the indirect effects showed that participants perceived that bolting was more common when exposed to the campaign combined with disapproval information, and these negative prevalence perceptions were associated with stronger bolting intentions. In contrast, Study 3 showed that (low) prevalence information enhanced the effectiveness of the campaign. Discussion: The results highlight the potentially harmful effects of providing (dis)approval information and distinguish them from the beneficial impact of prevalence information. The studies also highlight the importance of pre-testing campaigns and providing process evaluations.