The Regulatory Power of Social Expectations: Developing a Measurement Scale

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy. 2023. Vol. 43. No. 5/6. P. 569–585.

Parfenova A., Maria Kozlova

This research is devoted to the study of social expectations, and the purpose of this paper is to elaborate the instrument of their measurement based on the main spheres of influence. The research was conducted using a mixed methodology: a series of semi-structured interviews and a survey. In the first stage, 15 interviews were conducted with middle-aged people, as the representatives of this age group are included in the widest range of areas in which social expectations are expressed. In the second phase, both online and offline surveys (256 participants) were conducted to test the social expectations scale designed and to confirm the assumptions made in the qualitative step. The qualitative phase highlighted the most important areas of social expectations, identifying how they can potentially influence individual behavior. As a result of the quantitative stage, the scale of social expectations was developed, and its prognostic function was confirmed. By testing the predictive power of social expectations on behavioral attitudes it was revealed that they influence primarily goal setting, motivation, public opinion orientation, emotional experience, and decision-making process. This study is the first attempt to construct a measurement tool for social expectations in order to predict individual behavioral attitudes

 

Keywords: social norms, motivations, social expectations, Validation of measurement tools