Does Exposure to Campus Diversity Posters Influence Pro‐Diversity Attitudes? Exploring the Differential Motivational Processes of Peer and Institutional Norms

ABSTRACT Exposure to diversity initiatives can foster positive attitudes among dominant group members in some cases but spark unintended backlash in others. We aim to clarify these mixed effects from the perspective of normative influences on individuals' motivation. We hypothesised that students' perceptions of peer and university norms have distinct motivational pathways that drive pro‐diversity attitudes and behaviours. In this experiment, White students at a Canadian university ( N = 270; M age = 21.68) were exposed to either posters featuring campus‐wide diversity initiatives or non‐diversity‐related posters. We found that exposure to diversity posters (vs. control) heightened students' perceptions of both peer and institutional diversity norms, but with contrasting mediating effects. Specifically, students who perceived strong peer norms were more internally motivated to avoid prejudice and showed greater support for various diversity initiatives, policies and ideologies. In contrast, students who perceived strong institutional norms were more motivated by external rather than internal reasons, leading to a decreased appreciation for diversity. These findings underscore the motivational impacts of different social norms in diversity initiatives. Understanding individuals' motivations and their normative influences can provide better insights into fostering more internalised diversity attitudes.