Vacancy

• MA/MSc degree in sociology or a closely related field; interest in, and ideally some familiarity with psychology
• Interest in the topic of social cohesion and in collaborating in a broad research consortium with academic and non-academic stakeholders
• Strong interest in interdisciplinary research, including analytical and theoretical dimensions
• Professional competence in English 
• Advanced statistical skills are required; programming skills are recommended 

• Interest in societal discussions related to climate policies  

• We look for team players who want to play an active role in an inter- and transdisciplinary research community and training programme

This project aims to better understand the bidirectional relation between society’s social fabric – mainly in terms of social relations between people (such as friendships or family relations) – and the divergence or convergence of norms on climate-change-related behaviour. Which relations are under pressure because people think differently about how to contribute to social problems such as the climate crisis? Might these threats to the social fabric be more serious because we are not very well informed about the norms and behaviours of others? Therefore, we focus on building theoretical models for situations in which misperceptions of norms are likely. We want to test these models using experimental research.

Background

The social fabric of our society is constantly changing. People change their relations, norms and behaviour, which all determine the extent to which people feel they belong to groups and to society at large. To judge, amend and evaluate the social fabric, we need robust insight into the mechanisms behind these dynamics. Social norms regulate people’s behaviours and are either explicitly stated or inferred through social interactions. An example is how people discuss how much they contribute to the mitigation of or adaptation to climate-change-related problems.

Research Problems

A key question here is whether and how individuals accurately perceive the norms within a given context and how they affect who wants to interact with whom. Some classic findings from the social-psychological literature show that misperceptions of social norms are relatively common. Moreover, the extent to which an individual misperceives norms can lead to feelings of isolation from the larger group, because people feel they do not belong to the group or they do not want to deal with people with different norms. On the other hand, agreeing on social norms might also foster social interaction, following the logic of ‘birds of a feather flock together’, and support contributions to public goods. In addition, norm disagreement can reduce group identification, while results on cooperation are not necessarily negative (Otten et al., 2021). The processes behind these effects likely depend on which information is exchanged and which is not.

At the same time, findings show that influencing social norms is an effective way to achieve behavioural change in larger groups. We therefore aim to study how norms are perceived or misperceived in larger social groups and how they affect individual behaviour. We complement this psychological phenomenon by taking a sociological approach and studying this question within social networks. We focus on different types of behaviour related to climate change, such as perceptions of norms on topics relevant to a specific community (e.g., wind farms) as well as possible individual climate actions (e.g., switching to green energy or installing heat pumps).

State of the Art

There has been considerable theoretical and empirical work on the co-evolution of coordination behaviour in networks (De Matos Fernandes et al., 2025). While such studies typically assume that actors accurately observe the behaviour of all others, in many situations, individuals do not accurately perceive a norm. Upon misperceiving a social norm, individuals might start to feel less aligned with the group. This is a danger to social cohesion, especially because norms and networks show some form of co-evolution, meaning that the perceived norm shapes the network (and vice versa).

Innovative Aspects

The project we propose contributes to the existing literature in several ways. First, we will more explicitly take into account that the behaviour of others or norms on a certain behaviour are not straightforwardly observable by people. Second, we want to zoom in on micromechanisms involved in how people infer what the social norm might be from the information they have about others, adding more social-psychological mechanisms. Third, we aim to understand in what way the mechanisms of norm (mis)perception can help or hinder community-based interventions in the climate domain. The findings of the more fundamental components of this project will help tailor interventions in a specific context and highlight the extent to which individuals have an accurate or inaccurate perception of support for climate change measures in their community. This will help develop intervention strategies that specifically target the difference in perceptions, aiming to correct potential biases.

An example set-up of the project could consist of four research papers, as follows:

1. Developing an agent-based model on norms in dynamic networks with limited information and different decision principles.

The model should involve agents who make choices about contributing to a public good, develop norms on what they think is desired behaviour and decide on links they want to have to other agents with whom they can communicate or jointly contribute to a public good. The model will include connecting and disconnecting dynamics, which will provide insights into conditions of and potential unintended effects on the social fabric if divergent norms lead to groups with opposite norms or individuals who feel estranged from the majority.

1. A laboratory experiment testing  the predictions of the first model, including testing the microlevel assumptions of the model.

The experimental test of the model can be contextualized using a climate change mitigation topic (e.g., opinions on a planned wind farm). We test the likelihood of divergent or convergent norms associated with this topic by changing the information conditions related to  people’s contacts.

1. Extending the agent-based model with additional governmental regimes or policy interventions, developing predictions for concrete cases of climate change adaptation. This model investigates which measures might reduce the likelihood of divergent norms and the unravelling of social relations.

This paper will focus on modelling people’s communication and behaviour in relation to governmental measures.

1. Conducting a field test of the second model with data from either historical data or new data, focusing on a recent event or policy measure for which relevant dynamics are likely and whose setting the model fits reasonably well.

A field test can connect the insights from the previous papers to people’s response to governmental initiatives on climate change (e.g., tax incentives for climate adaptation) but might also link to other projects in SOCION.

De Matos Fernandes, C. A., Flache, A., & Bakker, D. M. (2025). Injecting complexity in simulation models: Do selection and social influence jointly promote cooperation? Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, 31(1), 63–104.

Otten, K., Buskens, V., Przepiorka, W., & Ellemers, N. (2021). Cooperation between newcomers and incumbents: The role of normative disagreements. Journal of Economic Psychology, 87, Article 102448.