Moralizing Consent: Three Field Studies Testing a Student-Led Intervention at University Parties

Moralization is the process by which preferences become moral values. We investigated a practice that is changing its moral status on college campuses in the United States: affirmative consent to sexual activity. We tested whether messages given to students just before they entered a party impacted their thinking about consent in moral terms—i.e., as a clear issue, with broad consensus, and an imperative to action. At two social clubs on a college campus in 2017, we randomly assigned moralistic vs. informational messages about consent, delivered at the party’s door. At the club that had pre-existing messaging about consent, the moralistic (vs. informational) message increased students’ thinking about consent in moral terms. By contrast, in the club without prior consent messaging, the informational (vs. moralistic) pledge increased students’ thinking about consent in moral terms. We then investigated and found weak evidence for a small reduction in administrative-level student conduct complaints compared to prior and subsequent years as a result of a one-night consent message treatment unique to each of the 12 clubs hosting a party. Theoretically, our findings make progress toward understanding processes of moralization. Pragmatically, they suggest the importance of locally tailored messages that reflect and shape the values of social groups.