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The Economics of Signing Petitions Social Pressure versus Social Engagement

Why do people sign petitions? Do they genuinely care about the subject matter, or just feel pressured by the solicitor? I tested this question in a field experiment involving a door-to-door petition drive where the ability of the homeowner to avoid the solicitor was varied. Households in the Flyer treatment group received a flyer on their doorknob announcing that a solicitor would arrive the next day collecting signatures for a Greenpeace petition on global warming. The houses in the Opt-Out treatment group received flyers that were identical except for a " Do Not Disturb " box at the bottom, which allowed homeowners opt out of the drive at no personal cost. The houses in the control group did not receive any notice of the upcoming petition drive. I found that the houses in the treatment groups were 14 and 23.5 percent, respectively, less likely to answer the door than the control group. The flyer treatments did not, however, significantly lower the percentage of people that signed the petition. These results indicate the presence of both social pressure and social engagement as motivating factors in the decision-making process.