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Abstract
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OBJECTIVES: To test the effects of exposure to a campaign to discourage drinking alcohol drinks down in one gulp ('bolting').
METHOD: Laboratory experiments assessed the effects of exposure to (1) the campaign (Pilot Study; N = 48), (2) the campaign combined with an injunctive norm message of explicit peer disapproval of bolting (Study 1; N = 78), and (3) the campaign and a descriptive norm message of low prevalence of bolting (Study 2; N = 96) on both normative perceptions of bolting and bolting intentions.
RESULTS: The Pilot Study showed that the campaign had no effect on norm perceptions or bolting intentions. In Study 1, the campaign was associated with higher, not lower, intentions to bolt drinks, an effect exacerbated by the injunctive norm information. Bootstrapping analyzes of the indirect effects showed that participants perceived that bolting was more common when exposed to the campaign combined with the injunctive norm, and these negative descriptive norm perceptions were associated with stronger bolting intentions. In contrast, Study 2 showed that addition of the descriptive norm (i.e. low prevalence information) enhanced the effectiveness of the campaign.
CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the potentially harmful effects of exposure to an injunctive norm message of disapproval information and distinguish them from the beneficial impact of exposure to a descriptive norm message of low prevalence. The importance of pre-testing campaigns and providing process evaluations is discussed.
Language: en |