Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
1-2025
Abstract
The present research examines how inferences about moral norms from descriptive norms change by perceptions of others' motives in the context of environmental behavior. When individuals think that many others engage in an environmental behavior (e.g., water and energy conservation) for prosocial (vs. proself) motives, they infer moralization about the behavior in a given context. They infer stronger injunctive norms about the behavior and expect others to experience moral outrage at violation of the moral standard (e.g., wasting water and energy). The moral norm perceptions predict people's motivation to engage in environmental behavior themselves. We further show that expected guilt and shame if not engaging in normative behavior explain the effects of prosocial-motivated (vs. proself-motivated) norms. Together, perceived motives behind descriptive norms change people's inferences about moral implications of normative behavior and their motivation to engage in normative behavior.
Keywords
Moral perceptions, Pro-environmental behavior, Social norms, Sustainability
Discipline
Experimental Analysis of Behavior | Social Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Volume
116
First Page
1
Last Page
15
ISSN
0022-1031
Identifier
10.1016/j.jesp.2024.104684
Publisher
Elsevier
Citation
EOM, Kimin, & CHOY, Bryan Kwok Cheng.(2025). Is common behavior considered moral? The role of perceived others' motives in moral norm inferences and motivation about environmental behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 116, 1-15.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4060
Copyright Owner and License
Authors CC-BY
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2024.104684