The Role of Choice Clustering and Descriptive Norms in Attenuating Psychological Reactance to Water and Energy Conservation Messages

ABSTRACT

The current study advances the literature on environmental communication by exploring message strategies for promoting residential water and energy conservation. In doing so, this study also builds on psychological reactance theory by examining two additional antecedents to psychological reactance: choice clustering and descriptive norms. Across two samples, participants (N = 857) were randomly assigned to view water and energy conservation print ads in a 2 (choice clustering: choice vs. no choice) × 2 (descriptive norm: high vs. low) between subjects factorial design. Results indicated that messages providing choice within a cluster of conservation behaviors (vs. no choice) decreased freedom threat perceptions. Descriptive norm (high vs. low) was unrelated to freedom threat but indirectly influenced behavioral intention to conserve as mediated through perceived descriptive norm. Results from this study also revealed a negative association between perceived descriptive norm and state reactance. Findings are discussed in terms of the theoretical and practical contributions of the current study.

KEYWORDS:

• Conservation
• psychological reactance
• descriptive norm
• choice
• clustering

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Readers may be curious as to why we hypothesized descriptive norms would predict behavior intention, but not attitude. Following the tradition of the reasoned action approach (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010), we positioned descriptive norms and attitudes as equally proximal antecedents to behavioral intention.

2 Percentages may not add up to 100% as participants were able to select one or more categories for race/ethnicity.

3 MLR corrects for non-normality in data. Preliminary analyses revealed that both anger and negative cognitions were slightly skewed (|2.0|) and/or kurtotic (|2.0|) in both the energy and water samples.

4 We did not hypothesize an interaction between choice clustering (choice vs. no choice) and descriptive norms (high vs. low). Based on a recommendation from a reviewer, we performed an additional analysis with this variable in our model but found no impact of the interaction on freedom threat perceptions (UPC = .08, SPC = .04, p > .05).

5 Model #1: Perceived descriptive norm preceding reactance, χ² (439, N = 857) = 1242.02, p < .001, RMSEA = .07 (90% CI = .061, .070), CFI = .91, SRMR = .07. Model #2: Reactance preceding perceived descriptive norm, χ² (439, N = 857) = 1246.78, p < .001, RMSEA = .07 (90% CI = .061, .070), CFI = .91, SRMR = .07.