TITLE:
Thou Shalt Not Steal: Effects of Normative Cues on Attitudes towards Theft
AUTHORS:
Judith de Groot, Wokje Abrahamse, Sarah Vincent
KEYWORDS:
Normative Influence; Social Norms; Theft; Injunctive Norms; Descriptive Norms
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.4 No.4,
April
24,
2013
ABSTRACT: In this study, we examine how normative cues influence attitudes towards theft. In a 3 × 2 × 2 within-subjects design (N = 120), we found that people had more negative attitudes towards theft when: 1) a higher value item was stolen than when a lower value item was stolen; 2) the theft took place in a public setting than when it took place in a private setting; and 3) the theft took place in a tidy rather than messy setting. Furthermore, our findings showed interaction effects between the value of a stolen item and 1) the cleanliness of the environment; and 2) the privateness of a setting, on attitudes towards theft. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.