Pathways From Norms to Intentions: A Developmental Perspective

Intentions strongly predict human behaviour, and social norms play a crucial role in shaping intentions. Yet, it is unclear how these norms promote novel intentions and whether underlying mechanisms differ across life stages. Across two controlled two-wave experiments (total N = 356), we examined how group norms influence intentions both directly and indirectly via changes in personal norms, and how these effects vary by age and perceived closeness to the group. We compared intention change pathways between emerging adults (ages 18–25) and adults (ages 35–45), and hypothesized that emerging adults would be more influenced by group norms due to ongoing identity formation. Results show that group norms can promote the formation of socially desirable personal norms and intention through both pathways. However, contrary to our expectations, neither age nor subjective closeness moderated these effects. Together, our findings point to two distinct yet stable pathways, direct influence and norm-updating, through which group norms shape intentions from emerging to mid-adulthood.