Understanding the sources of normative influence on behavior: The example of tobacco

Mead, Erin L.; Rimal, Rajiv N.; Ferrence, Roberta; Cohen, Joanna E.

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.05.030

Cited by 105 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Mead and colleagues 29 have argued that smoking social norms are shaped not only by normative influences in the social environment, but also those in the physical and symbolic environments. In the students’ accounts in the focus groups we found evidence of both effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“It Looks Like an Adult Sweetie Shop”: Point-of-Sale Tobacco Display Exposure and Brand Awareness in Scottish Secondary School Students

Sluijs

Haseen

Miller

et al. 2016

NICTOB

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Introduction:As further restrictions have been placed on tobacco advertising and promotions, point-of-sale (PoS) displays of cigarettes in shops have become an increasingly important source of young people’s exposure to tobacco products. This study explored the relationship between PoS displays of cigarettes and brand awareness among secondary school students in Scotland.Methods:Cross-sectional school surveys (n = 1406) and focus groups (n = 86) were conducted with S2 (13–14 years) and S4 (15–16 years) students in four schools of differing socioeconomic status in 2013, prior to the PoS display ban in large shops. Adjusted negative binomial regression analysis examined associations between brand awareness and exposure variables (visiting tobacco retailers, noticing displays of tobacco products).Results:Students visiting small shops more frequently (relative rate ratio [RRR] 1.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.41) and those who noticed cigarette displays in small shops (RRR 1.24, 95% CI 1.03–1.51) and large supermarkets (RRR 1.15, 95% CI 1.01–1.30) had higher brand awareness. The focus groups supported these findings. Participants described PoS tobacco displays as being eye-catching, colorful and potentially attractive to young people.Conclusions:This mixed-methods study showed that higher cigarette brand awareness was significantly associated with regularly visiting small shops and noticing PoS displays in small and large shops, even when students’ smoking status, smoking in their social networks, leisure activities, and demographics were included as confounding variables. This highlights the importance of PoS displays of tobacco products in increasing brand awareness, which is known to increase youth smoking susceptibility, and thus the importance of implementing PoS display bans in all shops.Implications:As increasing restrictions have been placed on tobacco promotion in many countries, PoS displays of cigarettes in shops have become an important source of young people’s exposure to tobacco products and marketing. This mixed-methods study showed that prior to the PoS display ban in Scotland, and controlling for other factors, 13- and 15-year olds who regularly visited small shops and those who noticed PoS displays in small and large shops, had a higher awareness of cigarette brands. This highlights the importance of PoS displays in increasing youth brand awareness, which increases smoking susceptibility, and thus the need for comprehensive bans on PoS displays which cover all shops.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“It Looks Like an Adult Sweetie Shop”: Point-of-Sale Tobacco Display Exposure and Brand Awareness in Scottish Secondary School Students

Sluijs

Haseen

Miller

et al. 2016

NICTOB

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“…To do so, we measured MPFC activity in smokers as they viewed messages that varied in the presence or absence of three key features known to affect health decisions and behavior change: portrayal of risk/negative consequences (Peters, Ruiter, & Kok, 2012; Kim Witte & Allen, 2000); portrayal of social norms/consequences (Cialdini et al, 2006; Mead et al, 2014) and portrayal of health outcomes/consequences (Hammond, 2011) (See section 2.2.1 and Figure 1 for examples). We focused our analyses on a subregion of MPFC involved in self-related processing (hereafter: self-MPFC ).…”

Section: - Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting behavior change from persuasive messages using neural representational similarity and social network analyses

Pegors¹,

Tompson²,

O’Donnell³

2017

NeuroImage

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Neural activity in medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), identified as engaging in self-related processing, predicts later health behavior change. However, it is unknown to what extent individual differences in neural representation of content and lived experience influence this brain-behavior relationship. We examined whether the strength of content-specific representations during persuasive messaging relates to later behavior change, and whether these relationships change as a function of individuals’ social network composition. In our study, smokers viewed anti-smoking messages while undergoing fMRI and we measured changes in their smoking behavior one month later. Using representational similarity analyses, we found that the degree to which message content (i.e. health, social, or valence information) was represented in a self-related processing MPFC region was associated with later smoking behavior, with increased representations of negatively valenced (risk) information corresponding to greater message-consistent behavior change. Furthermore, the relationship between representations and behavior change depended on social network composition: smokers who had proportionally fewer smokers in their network showed increases in smoking behavior when social or health content was strongly represented in MPFC, whereas message-consistent behavior (i.e., less smoking) was more likely for those with proportionally more smokers in their social network who represented social or health consequences more strongly. These results highlight the dynamic relationship between representations in MPFC and key outcomes such as health behavior change; a complete understanding of the role of MPFC in motivation and action should take into account individual differences in neural representation of stimulus attributes and social context variables such as social network composition.

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“…31 Consequently, selective information exposure and transmission processes may allow social media users to establish an information filter ‘bubble’ in which tobacco use is portrayed as a normal acceptable behaviour and becomes part of shared, in-group experience 31. Thus, tobacco-related messages on social media may lead to tobacco use initiation through such mechanisms as social learning or modelling of behaviours32 and socialisation into peer groups 33–37. Indeed, portrayal of tobacco and alcohol misuse is becoming a common activity to network about on Twitter 25…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…31 Thus, tobacco-related messages on social media may lead to tobacco use initiation through such mechanisms as social learning or modelling of behaviours 32 and socialisation into peer groups. [33][34][35][36][37] Indeed, portrayal of tobacco and alcohol misuse is becoming a common activity to network about on Twitter. 25 29 38 39 In addition to product promotion, social-networking sites are also used by the tobacco industry and their allies to influence public opinion on tobacco control policy decisions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Sweeter Than a Swisher’: amount and themes of little cigar and cigarillo content on Twitter

et al. 2016

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ObjectiveDespite recent increases in little cigar and cigarillo (LCC) use—particularly among urban youth, African-Americans and Latinos—research on targeted strategies for marketing these products is sparse. Little is known about the amount or content of LCC messages users see or share on social media, a popular communication medium among youth and communities of colour.MethodsKeyword rules were used to collect tweets related to LCCs from the Twitter Firehose posted in October 2014 and March–April 2015. Tweets were coded for promotional content, brand references, co-use with marijuana and subculture references (eg, rap/hip-hop, celebrity endorsements) and were classified as commercial and ‘organic’/non-commercial using a combination of machine learning methods, keyword algorithms and human coding. Metadata associated with each tweet were used to categorise users as influencers (1000 and more followers) and regular users (under 1000 followers).ResultsKeyword filters captured over 4 372 293 LCC tweets. Analyses revealed that 17% of account users posting about LCCs were influencers and 1% of accounts were overtly commercial. Influencers were more likely to mention LCC brands and post promotional messages. Approximately 83% of LCC tweets contained references to marijuana and 29% of tweets were memes. Tweets also contained references to rap/hip-hop lyrics and urban subculture.ConclusionsTwitter is a major information-sharing and marketing platform for LCCs. Co-use of tobacco and marijuana is common and normalised on Twitter. The presence and broad reach of LCC messages on social media warrants urgent need for surveillance and serious attention from public health professionals and policymakers. Future tobacco use prevention initiatives should be adapted to ensure that they are inclusive of LCC use.

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Understanding the sources of normative influence on behavior: The example of tobacco

Cited by 105 publications

References 67 publications

“It Looks Like an Adult Sweetie Shop”: Point-of-Sale Tobacco Display Exposure and Brand Awareness in Scottish Secondary School Students

“It Looks Like an Adult Sweetie Shop”: Point-of-Sale Tobacco Display Exposure and Brand Awareness in Scottish Secondary School Students

Predicting behavior change from persuasive messages using neural representational similarity and social network analyses

‘Sweeter Than a Swisher’: amount and themes of little cigar and cigarillo content on Twitter

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