Social Norms – Descriptive
We are heavily influenced by what we believe others do.
The research
When a hotel room showed a sign prompting people to recycle their towels for the environment, 35% of guests reused their towels. The winning message indicated that most previous occupants of that specific room had reused towels at some point during their stay — this led to 49% of guests reusing their towels.
Cialdini (2003). Crafting normative messages to protect the environment
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.
Pro tip
Descriptive norms are more effective when the comparison group is relevant and similar to your audience.
Thought starters
When more than half the people participate in a behaviour (e.g. 80% pay taxes), show this norm as a total — 8 out of 10 people pay their taxes
When less than half the people participate (e.g. 2% cycle), show the norm as an absolute number — Join the 2,000 people that cycle every day