Approach versus Avoidance: A Self-Regulatory Perspective on Hypocrisy Induction in Anti-Cyberbullying CSR Campaigns.

Governments, institutions, and brands try various intervention strategies for countering growing cyberbullying, but with questionable effectiveness. The authors use hypocrisy induction, a technique for subtly reminding consumers that they have acted contrary to their moral values, to see whether it makes consumers more willing to support brand-sponsored anti-cyberbullying CSR campaigns. Findings demonstrate that hypocrisy induction evokes varying reactions depending on regulatory focus, mediated by guilt and shame.

The Psychological Consequences of Envying Influencers on Instagram.

This study examines how being envious toward social media influencers (SMIs) relates to users' affective well-being. An online survey was conducted in which 305 U.S.

Hypocrisy Induction: Using Chatbots to Promote COVID-19 Social Distancing.

Considering widespread resistance to COVID-19 preventive measures, the authors draw on hypocrisy induction theory to examine whether online chatbots can be used to induce hypocrisy and increase compliance with social distancing guidelines. The experiment demonstrates that when a chatbot induces hypocrisy by reminding participants that they have failed to comply with social distancing recommendations, they feel guilty about violating social norms. To reinstate confidence in their personal standards, they form favorable attitudes toward the chatbot ad and establish intentions to comply with recommendations.

Using Descriptive and Injunctive Norms to Encourage COVID-19 Social Distancing and Vaccinations.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors conduct three online studies to examine effects of health messages that use descriptive norms to bring attention to pervasive social distancing violations and vaccine resistance. The studies provide empirical evidence that when social messages show examples of widespread noncompliant behaviors, they may unintentionally increase resistance to social distancing guidelines and vaccinations. Backfire effects are more pronounced when audiences highly identify with noncompliant actors or pay more attention to others' behaviors.