Self-Monitoring as a Moderator Between Descriptive Norms and Drinking: Findings Among Korean and American University Students

Abstract

Guided by the theory of normative social behavior (TNSB), this research examined whether a self-monitoring individual difference variable moderates the link between descriptive norms and drinking as well as drinking intentions such that the relations become stronger as self-monitoring becomes stronger. Contrary to our prediction, Study 1 showed that low self-monitoring Korean undergraduates were more likely to be guided by normative information when drinking and intending to drink when compared to those with high self-monitors. Study 2 was conducted using an American university sample, and results of the second study were identical to those of the first study. The relationship between descriptive norms and drinking was stronger among university students who are low self-monitors as compared to those who are high self-monitors. Implications for interventions are discussed.

Notes

¹In Korea, the mean age of Korean male university students is generally higher than that of female students because Korea has mandatory military service for all men. Korean men are usually drafted to serve in the military in the first or second year of attending a university, and they return to the school after serving 21 months in the army.

²The revised self-monitoring scale (Lennox & Wolfe, 1986) consists of two subscales that evaluate individuals' ability to modify self-presentation and sensitivity to expressive behavior of others. Of the two dimensions, more important to the current investigation is the sensitivity to expressive behavior of others dimension because individuals who are sensitive to others' behaviors may be more responsive to normative information. The ability to modify self-presentation subscale represents public performance (i.e., acting ability). Research suggests that only the sensitive to expressive behavior of others factor matched one of the conceptual components (i.e., attention to social comparison information) of the construct (Lennox & Wolfe, 1984; Leone, 2006). Thus, the sensitivity to expressive behavior of others factor is more appropriate for the current investigation.

³The fit of all confirmatory factor analyses was considered acceptable if the CMIN/df (i.e., χ²/df) was less than 3.0, the CFI exceeded .90, and the RMSEA was less than .08 (Kline, 1998).