From trendsetters to second movers: Commitments as catalysts for social change

Abstract

This paper examines the dual role of commitment in accelerating the mitigation of maladaptive norms. By drawing on the literature on social norms and commitment, I analyze how commitments (i) explain the deviant behavior of trendsetters and (ii) expedite social change by prompting counterpreferential choices among second movers. Specifically, the paper explores two key aspects of this dynamic: (1) the importance of moral norms, particularly in the relationship between trendsetters' commitments and their unconditional preferences, and (2) the unique role of second movers, whose commitment to trendsetters can lead them to make choices that contradict their conditional preferences in favor of trendsetters' behavior. This suggests that second movers, despite their tendency to conform to established social norms, may act against their conditional preferences due to their commitment to trendsetters. Understanding the role of commitments in shaping the behaviors of trendsetters and second movers is essential to overcoming psychological barriers that impede social change. Nonetheless, further exploration is needed to determine which maladaptive norms are most responsive to commitments and under what circumstances counterpreferential choices are likely to prevail.