ESRA 2025 Preliminary Program

Monday 14 July    Tuesday 15 July    Wednesday 16 July    Thursday 17 July    Friday 18 July   

All time references are in CEST

Surveying Social Norms: Challenges for Survey Research
Session Organisers	Dr Ivar Krumpal (University of Leipzig) Mrs Anna Lena Fehlhaber (Leibniz University Hannover) Dr Anatol-Fiete Näher (Hasso-Plattner-Institut Potsdam)
Time	Tuesday 15 July, 09:00 - 10:30
Room	Ruppert C - 0.23

Monitoring collective action as well as individual behavior and attitudes via surveys and big data has posed new challenges to the survey discipline. This session aims at presenting and discussing current survey research on social norms. We aim to discuss best practices, new challenges and innovative designs that address both methodological and substantive problems related to the emergence, enforcement, change and decay of social norms. The explanation and measurement of norm compliance / deviance are also of central interest in our session.
We invite submissions that address these issues and/or present potential solutions. We also invite applications of norm research from any discipline. In particular, we are interested in studies that (1) deal with substantive problems and applications of survey research, such as norm compliance, deviant behavior, ethical preferences in regards to allocation or trolley problems; (2) present current survey research focusing on public opinion in regards to the emergence of new social norms, values and the production of collective goods; (3) deal with methodological problems such as nonresponse, social desirability bias or sampling issues presenting innovative designs and solutions addressing these problems; (4) discuss the use of artificial intelligence in the collection and analysis of data on social norms; (5) present experimental survey research (e.g. factorial surveys, conjoint experiments, field experiments) and statistical procedures to analyze such data (e.g. conjoint analysis); (6) integrate innovative experimental designs in well-established, large-scale population surveys of the general population; (7) discuss best practices in surveying social norms.

Keywords: Social norms, social desirability bias, nonresponse bias, factorial surveys, conjoint experiments

Papers

Revisiting Abortion Attitudes in Turkey: A Context-Sensitive Approach

Miss Ladin Toplu (Bogazici University) - Presenting Author

In Turkey, attitudes toward abortion have traditionally been measured using a 0-10 acceptability scale in values surveys and the importance of context in shaping abortion attitudes has long been neglected. Notably, context-dependent abortion attitudes in Turkey were last measured in the European Values Survey in 2008, despite significant political and societal shifts since then. The current hostile rhetoric of political leaders toward abortion in Turkey and the global rise of far-right ideologies, and the accompanying restrictive policies highlight the need for updated data.

To address this gap, Turkish Social Values Study includes three novel context-based questions: (1) approval of abortion for an unmarried woman, (2) approval of abortion for a married couple, and (3) approval of abortion when a woman’s health is at risk. Additionally, the survey introduces an unprecedented question that measures whether the respondents agree or disagree with the following statement: “Abortion should be easily accessible to everyone”. The aim of this new variable is to measure public opinion on the accessibility of abortion, which has never been systematically assessed in Turkey before. Hence, this research focuses on the following question: “How do the demographic determinants of attitudes toward abortion change across different scenarios? What are the determinants of being for or against accessible abortion in Turkey?”.

This novel approach responds to the need for data in a sociopolitical climate where abortion debates are increasingly polarized. Furthermore, it aims to go beyond binary measures and capture nuanced attitudes that reflect real-life complexities more accurately and contribute to a more thorough understanding of reproductive autonomy. The findings have the potential to inform policies that advocate for universal abortion access and contribute to the broader discourse on reproductive justice in Turkey and beyond.

Violence, Police Legitimacy and police repression: Examining Self-Reported Participation in Violent Collective Action

Ms Monica Gerber (Universidad Diego Portales) - Presenting Author
Mr Cristóbal Moya (DIW Berlin / Universität Bielefeld)

Measuring participation in violent collective action through surveys presents significant challenges. People may be reluctant to report engaging in such behavior due to concerns about legal consequences or because it is socially undesirable to admit. However, in Chile, following the 2019 social uprising, there was widespread public support for the use of violence as a means of protesting against perceived social injustice and inequality.

We conducted a survey after the uprising (n = 2594), asking respondents whether they had engaged in violent protest actions and whether they justified such actions. Surprisingly, 11% reported verbally abusing the police, 7% reported participating in street blockages, and 3% reported throwing stones or bottles during a demonstration. These findings offer valuable insight into why individuals may disclose violent behavior despite the potential risks of self-reporting.

To further explore these patterns, we conducted a latent class analysis combining both self-reported violent actions and support for such actions. Three distinct classes emerged: (1) those who participated in and supported violence, (2) those who neither participated in nor supported violence, and (3) those with minimal participation but high support for violence. The third group is particularly interesting, as it suggests the possibility that some individuals in this category may have engaged in violence but refrained from admitting it.

We then explored the variables predicting membership in these classes. Individuals who participated in or supported violent collective action exhibited lower levels of police legitimacy and higher exposure to police repression. Notably, both police legitimacy and repression played a key role in differentiating between those who merely supported violence and those who reported direct involvement in it. These findings raise new questions about whether self-reporting violent actions in surveys becomes more likely in highly politicized contexts where distrust toward the targeted group is widely shared.

A Mixed-Method Study of Feminist Concepts in Psychotherapy: Operationalizing Gender and Power

Dr Marija Radoman (Research Associate, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade) - Presenting Author

This research seeks to explore how societal norms, context, and traditional gender roles permeate psychotherapeutic education, potentially affecting both training and therapeutic processes. The central research questions of this study include examining how societal attitudes are reflected in therapist education and to what extent they influence therapists’ approaches to gender issues. The study uses a mixed-methods approach to explore the integration of feminist knowledge in psychotherapy. It examines whether feminist concepts such as gender roles and patriarchal attitudes can be effectively operationalized within the field, and how quantitative and qualitative methods provide complementary or contradictory results regarding these issues.
The quantitative component involves an online survey of therapists from post-Yugoslav countries to assess the prevalence of gender stereotypes and patriarchal views in practice. Although this approach provides a broad understanding of therapists' attitudes, it struggles to capture the deeper, subjective factors influencing therapy, particularly regarding gender identity and power. The qualitative part of the research, based on interviews with female psychotherapists, offers richer insights into personal narratives and subjective interpretations. While it provides a deeper understanding of how therapists construct and respond to gender norms, it lacks generalizability due to the smaller sample size.
By combining both approaches, this study highlights the strengths and limitations of each methodology. The quantitative data offer a wider statistical overview, while the qualitative interviews provide a more nuanced understanding of how feminist concepts are operationalized in therapeutic practice. Ultimately, the study reflects on the effectiveness of these methodologies in capturing the complexities of feminist concepts in psychotherapy.

Understanding the Role of Descriptive Norms for Participation in Collective Action: The Case of the Housing Movement in Portugal

Miss Joana Nunes (ISCTE-IUL) - Presenting Author
Ms Sven Waldzus (ISCTE-IUL)

Collective action (CA) is a driver of social change starting at grassroots level. Previous studies have established the role of identification, morality, injustice and efficacy (SIMCA model) in predicting CA. However, the role of social norm adherence and social influence have been overlooked. In two experiments, descriptive norms were manipulated in the context of the housing movement in Portugal. In Experiment 1 (N=235), participants responded to the survey both in an online and controlled environment and were randomly assigned to two distinct conditions. They were shown a fictitious text about the high vs low participation rates of a reference group. Experiment 2 (N=330) had a similar design, except that a control group was added and participants responded to the survey only online. After the presentation of descriptive norms information, we incorporated a self-persuasion technique, where individuals were asked to type a text about the reasons behind high/low participation according to the condition assigned, providing in the same methodology both quantitative and qualitative components. In the two studies, the manipulation was effective, given that participants in the high participation norm condition estimated that their close social network also participated more in the housing movement (measured norms). However, contrary to our predictions, there was no total effect of the manipulated descriptive norms on participants’ intentions to engage in CA. Nevertheless, the whole SIMCA model mediated the relationship between descriptive norms and CA intentions measures. Specific distinct significant indirect effects were found in the two studies. As the reference group affected by grievances differed between the two studies (young, Experiment 1; Portuguese, Experiment 2), we suggest that the relevance attributed to specific SIMCA factors is context and social identity dependent. This study provides both relevant theoretical and methodological knowledge about the role of descriptive norms.

Integrating AI Chatbots into Factorial Surveys to Simulate Interactional Scenarios

Professor Carsten Sauer (Bielefeld University)
Dr Jule Adriaans (Bielefeld University) - Presenting Author

Factorial surveys are widely used in social science research to investigate individuals’ attitudes and decision-making processes. Respondents evaluate hypothetical scenarios (vignettes) that systematically vary across several dimensions. While effective in capturing sensitive attitudes and hypothetical behavior, factorial surveys typically rely on static descriptions, limiting their applicability to dynamic, real-world processes. An example is wage negotiations, where iterative and interactive exchanges significantly shape outcomes. Traditional factorial surveys struggle to capture this complexity and interactivity.

To address this limitation, we propose integrating AI chatbots into factorial surveys to simulate negotiation processes and reflect their dynamic nature. We hypothesize that AI chatbots enhance the realism and interactivity of vignettes but recognize the need to evaluate whether AI-generated variation across treatments affects their validity. Our study examines how the communication styles of AI chatbots influence respondents’ claims, offer acceptability, and fairness evaluations in fictitious salary-increase negotiations. By experimentally manipulating the chatbot’s communication style, we test its impact on negotiation behavior and perceptions, as well as the feasibility of this innovative approach.

Beyond assessing feasibility, we explore ethical considerations and gather respondents’ feedback on their survey experience. This dual focus enables us to evaluate both the practical and ethical implications of integrating AI into factorial surveys. Our findings provide insights into how AI can enhance survey experiments, offering new methodological opportunities to capture dynamic decision-making processes. Ultimately, this research advances the use of AI in social science methodologies, with potential applications extending beyond survey experiments.