Social norms and intentions to adopt double surnames in Italy: evidence from two survey experiments

Key findings from this study

This research indicates that:

• Empirical expectations regarding how frequently double surnames are adopted exert substantially stronger effects on parental intentions than normative expectations about social approval.
• The influence of empirical expectations varies depending on which social reference network is made salient to respondents.
• Changing observable adoption rates among relevant social groups represents a more promising intervention point than messaging about social norms or values alone.

Overview

This research examines how social norms influence Italian parents' intentions to assign double surnames to children. Italy's 2022 Constitutional Court ruling permits double surnames unless parents opt otherwise, creating a policy context for studying surname adoption. The study investigates whether empirical expectations (beliefs about prevalence) or normative expectations (beliefs about approval) shape parental decisions regarding egalitarian naming practices.

Methods and approach

Two survey experiments used Italian online quota samples with random assignment to four hypothetical scenarios. These scenarios manipulated both empirical and normative expectations regarding double surname adoption. The experimental design isolated the relative influence of each expectation type on stated intentions.

Results

Empirical expectations demonstrated substantially stronger influence on adoption intentions than normative expectations. The second experiment confirmed this pattern but revealed that effect magnitude varies by reference network. Specifically, respondents' intentions shifted more when presented with information about adoption rates in relevant social groups than when shown normative approval messages.

This differential responsiveness to empirical versus normative information suggests that perceived prevalence operates as a primary decision heuristic. The reference network finding indicates that salience and relevance of the comparison group modulate the strength of the empirical expectation effect. Parents appear to calibrate naming decisions partly through observing what similar others actually do rather than what is formally endorsed.

Implications

Policy efforts to increase double surname adoption should prioritize visible behavioral models and prevalence information over normative messaging alone. Highlighting actual usage patterns among relevant reference groups may prove more effective than emphasizing social approval. This implies that norm-change strategies require not only attitudinal shifts but also demonstrable behavioral shifts to cascade through social networks.

The findings contribute to understanding why gender-egalitarian practices diffuse unevenly across social domains despite widespread endorsement of gender equality. Even when policies remove structural barriers, adoption depends critically on empirical social learning. Policymakers seeking to promote naming equality should consider strategies that increase salience of alternative practices through peer visibility mechanisms.

Scope and limitations

This summary is based on the study abstract and available metadata. It does not include a full analysis of the complete paper, supplementary materials, or underlying datasets unless explicitly stated. Findings should be interpreted in the context of the original publication.