Social image in context: The role of social norms and social networks

• This study combines network data and field experiments in a non-WEIRD society. • Social norms act as the primary reference point for social image effects. • Observation induces norm conformity rather than prosocial signaling. • Norm enforcement depends on participant-observer network relations. • Distant, weakly tied, and low-centrality observers trigger stronger conformity. Social image effects are a common phenomenon, yet strongly heterogeneous across situations and people. We use a lab-in-the-field experiment in small-scale societies of Papua New Guinea to study the drivers of heterogeneity in social image effects, focusing on the roles of social norms and social network relationships. Participants played a dictator game, both, in private and in front of an observer. This data is accompanied by incentive-compatibly measured information on the social norm location and detailed social network data. First, we present causal evidence that social norms serve as reference points for social image effects, with participants’ behavior shifting toward the norm when observed. Second, our analysis reveals that the strength of norm enforcement depends on the participant-observer relationship. We find that norm enforcement is stronger when i) social distance increases, ii) cooperative ties weaken, and iii) observer centrality in communication networks decreases.