In a field study by Shultz and his colleagues (2007), several households in a neighborhood received weekly feedback about their level of energy consumption relative to their neighbors. Feedback about how much energy they used relative to their neighbors provided participants with __________ norms.
A) descriptive
B) injunctive
C) prescriptive
D) descriptive and injunctive

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Descriptive norms refer to perceptions of what most people do in a particular situation. In this case, the feedback provided to participants was about the level of energy consumption of their neighbors, which would provide participants with a sense of what was typical or average in their neighborhood. This corresponds to descriptive norms, because it reflects what most other people are doing, and does not necessarily communicate approval or disapproval of that behavior (which is characteristic of injunctive norms). Prescriptive norms refer to perceptions of what people should do in a particular situation, and were not relevant in this study. Therefore, the best answer is A) descriptive.

In a Field Study by Shultz and His Colleagues (2007)