Thesis (BA Communication Arts) -- University of the Philippines Mindanao, 2018

This study was designed to test the effects of social norms., behavioral privacy, attitudes, and time constraints on handwashing behavior among college students. It is essential to explore the possible effects of descriptive social norms based messaging on handwashing, mainly because Filipino communities are generally collectivistic in nature and this usually leads to misconceptions and thus miscommunications. The development of a descriptive social norms based message that constraints the actual prevalence of the handwashing behavior can possibly affect the perceived beliefs of an individual about handwashing which can probably lead to them exhibiting handwashing behavior. Aside from determining the possible effects of a descriptive social norms based messaging, the study would be exploring whether different modifying factors, including: behavioral privacy, perceived descriptive normative content in the message, perceived descriptive norms about handwashing, attitude towards handwashing, issue involvement about handwashing, identification with dominant social group, outcome expectations about handwashing, time constraints when in comfort rooms, and socio-demographic characteristics moderate the norm-behavior relationship provided by the communication intervention. The study followed a 2x2 field experimental design wherein the data collection went through four experimental phases. The experimental groups varied on two variables, which are message condition (message is available/ no message) and behavioral privacy condition (visible other is present/ no visible other). This study was conducted with 120 purposively selected students. Results of the different experimental groups showed that an experiment types where a descriptive social norms message was available, the number of individuals who exhibit handwashing behavior increases. In contrast, in message conditions where no message was available the number of individuals who washed their hands were low. Interestingly, the level of thoroughness of handwashing increases when the behavioral privacy condition is set to a visible other being present. Furthermore, the higher the perceived beliefs of an individual have about handwashing, the more likely he will exhibit handwashing when exposed to a descriptive social norms message. The result of the study confirms the assumptions of the Theory of Normative Social behavior, which argues that descriptive social norms messaging and together with contextual, individual and societal factors that a person has influences how his actions would take place.