This study examined two aspects of social norms, and investigated illegal crossing behavior at an intersection. Two norms were focused upon: the injunctive norm, i.e. to wait during a red light; and the descriptive norm, i.e. to be influenced by the behavior of surrounding people. Study 1 was a natural observation of 56 persons and 50 groups as they passed by an intersection. Study 2 looked at three kinds of descriptive norms derived from Study 1, and 183 persons who passed an intersection were questioned about their crossing behavior. Results showed that: 1) Most people were influenced by a norm manifested within a particular situation; 2) The particular intersection in question was itself inductive of illegal crossing; 3) Males were more prone to ignore the red light than females. This study suggested that the behavior of surrounding people is a strong predictor of pedestrian crossing behavior, and the importance of descriptive norms was confirmed.
