Give Peas a Chance
Problem
statement &
Research question
▪
Meat eating norm in western culture▪
Consumption of meat is rising▪
Negative effect on global warmingDynamic norms
Dynamic norms
vs. Static norms
▪
Dynamic: That means that, in recent years, 3 in 10people have changed their behaviour and begun to eat less meat than they otherwise would.
▪
Static: That means that 3 in 10 people eat less meat than they otherwise would.▪
Why do dynamic norms work?▪ Anticipation of a changed future world
How to convey
norms
▪
Tankard and Palluck (2016):▪ Public behaviour of others
▪ Summary information
Hypotheses
▪
Individuals will more often choose a plant-basedproduct, instead of a meat product, when they observe a growing minority of individuals choosing a plant-based product (dynamic norm), compared to individuals who do not observe this growing minority.
▪
Letting individuals observe a dynamic norm will have a larger effect on their behaviour than letting theseMethod
▪
Two participant groups: Dynamic norm and Static norm▪
Artificial setting▪
Ten decision rounds and ten summaries▪
Summaries differed per participant groupStatistical
analysis
▪
Dependent variable: Participant choice rounds nine and ten▪
Independent variable: Norm condition▪
Covariates: Habit, Meat-preference, prior choices▪
Additional measures: Age and genderResults
Minority-model
▪
Hypotheses were not confirmed▪
Power: 36%▪
Significant covariates: Gender, Meat-preference and Prior choice▪ Women are 56.8% less likely than males to choose the plant-based product in rounds 9/10.
▪ If meat-preference goes up by one unit, the probability of choosing the plant-based product decreases with 24.1%
Minority-Predict
▪
Trainingsdataset: 75% training, 25% prediction▪
Power: 8.9%▪
Significant IV: Meat-preferenceDiscussion
▪
Consistency effect?▪ Individuals have a preference for consistency
▪
Heuristics?▪ Mental shortcuts to ease decision making
▪
Morality?Future research
▪
Future research:▪ Eliminate consistency within experiment
▪ Nonmoral decision (two chocolate brands)
Implications
▪
Observing dynamic norms does not influence conusmer behaviour▪ But, low power of 36%
▪ Gender, Meat-preference and prior choices do have an influence
▪
Take into account:▪ Heuristics
▪ Need for consistency
