Cafe Sci: Dr Zvonimir Basic - Glasgow Sauchiehall St

Cafe Sci - 2nd March 2026: Dr Zvonimir Basic: "How 'norms' shape our behaviour.

The way ‘norms’ shape our behaviour

People often share money with complete strangers, even when there’s nothing in it for them. They contribute to public causes despite knowing their individual contribution won’t really make a difference. And many avoid lying for personal gain even when no one could possibly find out. So what drives this kind of behaviour?

A key common driver in these situations are ‘norms’: the unwritten rules that guide everyday life. Some are ‘injunctive’ norms – group beliefs about what behaviour is appropriate. Some are ‘descriptive’ norms – how people usually act in a situation. And some are ‘personal’ norms – the standards we hold ourselves to, even in private.

These topics have occupied social scientists for decades, yet recent years have brought many important advances. We now have a better understanding of how to quantify norms, how they matter across different contexts, how we might use them to influence behaviour, and also how norm-based interventions might backfire.

In this talk, Dr Basic will discuss these issues from the perspective of a behavioural and experimental economist - and introduce us to the complex yet powerful human driver of norms.

Paragraph about speaker

Dr Zvonimir Bašić is a Lecturer in Economics at the University of Glasgow Adam Smith Business School and Director of the Glasgow Experimental Lab (GaEL). He studied in Croatia and Germany, and earned his PhD from the University of Bonn in 2018. He is a behavioural and experimental economist whose research focuses foremost on uncovering the foundations of prosocial, cooperative, and moral behaviour – and on understanding how these behaviours can be shaped. To address his research questions, he primarily conducts behavioural studies with human participants.