Learning to Cooperate: How First Impressions of Social Norms Shape Ethical Behavior

Ethical decisions are often influenced by perceptions of social norms—beliefs about what others are doing. When norms are not communicated explicitly, people may infer them by observing the behavior of others (“exemplars”). We investigate whether perceptions of social norms are influenced by the order in which exemplars are encountered. In our studies, participants observed either a selfish exemplar followed by a generous exemplar or a generous exemplar followed by a selfish exemplar, then made an ethical decision themselves. In Studies 1 and 2, participants who observed the generous exemplar first responded more prosocially when asked to imagine donating to a museum or contributing to a coworker’s honeymoon fund. In Studies 3A and 3B, participants shared more real money with strangers if they encountered the generous exemplar first, and we found that donation behavior was mediated by changes in perceptions of social norms. Overall, these results show that first impressions shape ethical behavior, with broad implications for promoting ethical and collaborative organizational cultures.