Joint Action and Prosocial Behaviour: The Role of Normative Pressure and Group Identification

Abstract

Addressing complex societal challenges, such as climate change, requires technological and policy solutions, however, the core to tackling the climate crisis is collective behavioural change. To better understand how such change can be fostered, this study examined whether participating in joint action, compared to individual activity, influences perceptions of agency, group identification, normative pressure, and prosocial behaviour. Visitors at University Museum Utrecht (N = 248) built either an individual LEGO garden or a collaborative community garden. Participants in the collective condition were more likely to donate and gave higher amounts, suggesting that joint action promotes immediate prosocial behaviour. Participants in the collective condition reported significantly higher collective agency towards and beyond the task, stronger group identification and perceived normative pressure, which is particularly notable given the public nature of the donation opportunity. However, joint action did not significantly increase self-agency or behavioural intentions, and perceived normative pressure did not mediate effects on intentions or behaviour. These findings suggest that shared experiences can promote immediate prosocial behaviour by activating situational cues and shared purpose, even when increases in behavioural intentions are absent. Interventions may be more effective when tasks align with target behaviour. Future research could explore combining joint action with explicit norm activation and structured reflection to support lasting engagement. This study contributes to an understanding of how temporary shared experiences shape prosocial behaviour and offers practical insights of behaviour-focused interventions.