A field experiment: Testing the potential of norms for achieving behavior change in English parishes

Van de Vyver, J.; John, P.

doi:10.1111/jasp.12443

A field experiment: Testing the potential of norms for achieving behavior change in English parishes

Van de Vyver, J.; John, P.

Authors

Dr Julie Van De Vyver julie.van-de-vyver@durham.ac.uk
Seminars/Lectures (PTT)

P. John

Abstract

Tests of behavioral insights have become increasingly more common, and have been deployed by UK government and agencies. Typically, these field experiments aim to change individual‐level behaviors. The current article tests the potential of behavioral insights for changing group‐level behavior. This article reports the results of a field experiment carried out with the Department of Communities and Local Government. The field experiment tested whether a normative message (vs. a neutral or no message) could encourage parish councils to register an asset of community value (social action). There was no statistically significant effect from this intervention, but the process of designing and implementing this field experiment shows the potential for theories of behavior change to be used by government departments.

Citation

Van de Vyver, J., & John, P. (2017). A field experiment: Testing the potential of norms for achieving behavior change in English parishes. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 47(6), 347-352. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12443

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Feb 11, 2017
Online Publication Date	Jun 4, 2017
Publication Date	Jun 4, 2017
Deposit Date	Sep 6, 2018
Publicly Available Date	Sep 7, 2018
Journal	Journal of Applied Social Psychology
Print ISSN	0021-9029
Electronic ISSN	1559-1816
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	47
Issue	6
Pages	347-352
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12443
Related Public URLs	http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/26725/

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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Van de Vyver, J. & John, P. (2017). A field experiment: Testing the potential of norms for achieving behavior change in English parishes. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 47(6): 347-352 which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12443. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.