Any Psych Majors out there?

Question

I remember discussing a social phenomenon in freshman phsych that basically said:

Even if you aren't the type of person who would litter you are more likely to litter if the field you are standing in is already covered in trash.

Even if you would never throw a rock through a window, if it was an old factory and most of the windows were broken you probably would.

That's why when things aren't maintained they get exponentially worse over time.

There is some term for this phenomenon and i can't remember it.

Answer 1

Well, I can not find anything on the specific name of the social phenomena, but what you are looking at is that people are affected by the context they find themselves in, which consists of the social and physical environments around them.

With the social environment, people base their response on two types of information:

1) Normative: What others expect them to do
2) Informative: What they see others do

As you said, the study by Cialdini and others in 1990 found that people were more likely to litter if the field was already littered because they were basing their decision on what others were doing so they were using that informative information, while society might expect them not to litter, others were doing it without repercussion so there was no incentive for them not to litter.

Answer 2

Um, your assumption that only a psych major would know this is faulty.

I'm not sure, but "diminished responsibility" might be what you're looking for.

In your second example, I wouldn't say "probably would" but "would be more likely to.

Anyway, I'll keep this window open, as I'm now curious, too, as to what the phenomenon is called.