ABSTRACT

The current study tested a theoretical account of how and when norms message features influence attitudes and intentions. Specifically, we examined whether functional matching and numeracy help to explain variation in persuasive outcomes following exposure to norms messaging. We executed two experiments to test our functional matching and numeracy assumptions in the context of alcohol consumption. Across both studies, our functional matching assumption was not supported. In Study 2, numeracy moderated the impact of descriptive norms message content on intentions to engage in heavy drinking, such that message exposure was associated with reduced drinking intentions among participants with greater levels of numeracy. In sum, the findings provided some evidence that the functional attitude approach lacked theoretical utility and that numeracy dictated the effect of norms message exposure on intentions.

摘要

目前的研究测试了规范信息特征如何以及何时影响态度和意图的理论解释。具体来说，我们检查了功能匹配和算术是否有助于解释接触规范信息后说服结果的变化。我们进行了两个实验来测试我们在饮酒背景下的功能匹配和计算假设。在这两项研究中，我们的功能匹配假设都没有得到支持。在研究 2 中，计算能力缓和了描述性规范信息内容对酗酒意图的影响，因此信息暴露与计算能力较高的参与者的饮酒意图降低有关。总共，