Why Ignoring Negative Social Norms Could Boost Your Political Engagement

political participation Political Behavior @Pol. Behav.2 Stata files 1 dataset Dataverse

This article explores how negative descriptive social norms—perceptions that others are not acting politically—can paradoxically encourage individual political participation. Drawing on survey data and experiments, the study demonstrates this counterintuitive effect by analyzing responses to hypothetical scenarios involving inaction.

Examines perceptions of 'others' lack of engagement
Shows these negative norm beliefs increase motivation
Uses mixed-methods approach combining surveys with behavioral experiments

The findings challenge conventional assumptions about descriptive norms and offer practical implications for boosting political involvement.

Article card for article: Negative Descriptive Social Norms and Political Action: People Aren't Acting, So You Should

Negative Descriptive Social Norms and Political Action: People Aren't Acting, So You Should was authored by Hans Hassell. It was published by Springer in Pol. Behav. in 2019.