Formation of Norms in Digital Campaigns

This study employed a 2 (Prevalence cue: high use norm vs. low use norm) x 2 (Valence cue: issue-supporting vs. issue-opposing) x 2 (Social norm-based message: social norm presented vs. no norm) between-subjects design. Participants were exposed to a social media-based campaign article, with variations only in the prevalence and valence cues within the accompanying comments and whether the campaign message contained social norm information. Control groups read the campaign without any comments. Dynata, a local market research company, was commissioned to recruit participants who are Hong Kong residents aged 18-65. The company emailed registered panel members within this age range, inviting them to participate in an online study about public perceptions of e-cigarettes. Quota sampling ensured that the final sample was representative of Hong Kong's population in terms of age, gender, education, and region, based on census statistics.