Spreading disorder in communities

Evidence of social disorder such as graffiti can increase peoples’ willingness to disobey social rules, researchers report in the Nov. 20 issue of Science. In order to reach this conclusion, Kees Keizer and colleagues performed six field experiments in Groningen, the Netherlands, which tested whether or not people were more willing to defy social norms when they were presented with evidence that other people were. Over the course of their experiments, the researchers observed that people were much more inclined to disobey posted signs when it seemed like other people were doing so, litter when there was graffiti or the sound of fireworks present, and even steal when there was graffiti present. They report that the mere presence of graffiti more than doubled the number of people littering and stealing. The researchers suggest that as a certain norm-violating behavior becomes more common, it will also negatively influence conformity to other social norms and rules. This finding is particularly important for policy makers and police officers because it reinforces the “Broken Windows Theory,” which forms the backbone of many major cities’ crime prevention efforts.

Article #16: "The Spreading of Disorder," by K. Keizer; S. Lindenberg; L. Steg at University of Groningen in Groningen, Netherlands.