From Goal Approval to Social Engagement: How Norms Motivate Collective Action

Social norms influence a wide spectrum of behaviors, yet their role in motivating political action remains underexplored. We propose a theoretical framework that distinguishes three norm types: (1) social approval of activists’ goals, (2) social approval of their actions, and (3) social engagement in those actions. We test how these norms and their consistent or inconsistent combinations shape willingness to participate in political action and perceptions of the cause’s importance and feasibility. Six preregistered experiments examined these effects in both hypothetical and real-world contexts, in Poland and the U.S., using between-person and within-person designs. Study 1 showed that information about one norm type spilled over to inferences about the others, underscoring the need to examine norms in combination. Across Studies 2–6, consistently high levels across all three norm types in most cases produced the strongest action intentions, while consistently low levels produced the weakest. Inconsistent combinations yielded more nuanced effects, with reduced approval of goals especially likely to undermine action intentions, and withdrawal of action approval playing a comparatively weaker role. Manipulations of social norms also influenced perceived importance and expectancy of the cause, which mediated their effects on collective action intentions. Taken together, these findings integrate normative and motivational theories and offer practical suggestions for implementing norm-based interventions in social campaigns.