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Risk perception, illusory superiority and personal responsibility during COVID-19: An experimental study of attitudes to staying home.
van Baal, Simon T; Walasek, Lukasz; Karanfilovska, Daniela; Cheng, Allen C; Hohwy, Jakob.
  • van Baal ST; Cognition & Philosophy Lab, Department of Philosophy, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
  • Walasek L; Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Warwick, UK.
  • Karanfilovska D; Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Warwick, UK.
  • Cheng AC; Infection Prevention and Healthcare Epidemiology Unit, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
  • Hohwy J; Infection Prevention and Healthcare Epidemiology Unit, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Br J Psychol ; 113(3): 608-629, 2022 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1624984
ABSTRACT
Little is known about how different government communication strategies may systematically affect people's attitudes to staying home or going out during the COVID-19 pandemic, nor how people perceive and process the risk of viral transmission in different scenarios. In this study, we report results from two experiments that examine the degree to which people's attitudes regarding the permissibility of leaving one's home are (1) sensitive to different levels of risk of viral transmission in specific scenarios, (2) sensitive to communication framings that are either imperative or that emphasize personal responsibility, or (3) creating 'loopholes' for themselves, enabling a more permissive approach to their own compliance. We find that the level of risk influences attitudes to going out, and that participants report less permissive attitudes to going out when prompted with messages framed in imperative terms, rather than messages emphasizing personal responsibility; for self-loopholes, we find no evidence that participants' attitudes towards going out in specific scenarios are more permissive for themselves than for others. However, participants report they are more rigorous in staying home than others, which may cause moral licensing. Additionally, we find that age is negatively associated with permissive attitudes, and that male participants are more permissive to going out. Thus, during phases where it is important to promote staying home for all scenarios, including those perceived to be low-risk, imperative communication may be best suited to increase compliance.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: COVID-19 Type of study: Prognostic study Limits: Humans / Male Language: English Journal: Br J Psychol Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Bjop.12554

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: COVID-19 Type of study: Prognostic study Limits: Humans / Male Language: English Journal: Br J Psychol Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Bjop.12554