Determinants of Norm Compliance: Moral Similarity and Group Identification

What determines whether someone complies with a social norm? The social identity approach offers a mechanism for norm compliance: a person who feels similar to a group identifies more with that group and, in turn, complies with the group’s norms. Using an experiment, we test whether similarity in values increases identification and adherence to a group rule. To do so, we varied the similarity/dissimilarity between the values of an individual and members of a social group and measured group identification and rule compliance. We find that similarity in values increased group identification, and group identification increased rule compliance. We show that this behavior change was due to increased group norm sensitivity rather than changes in norms to follow rules when they come from similar or dissimilar groups. We advance the study of social identity by establishing a causal pathway between group identification and behavior change. We also contribute to the management literature by showing that aligning organizational values with those of the workforce is a viable and implementable mechanism for increasing policy and guideline adherence.