A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
ISSN
0027-8424
1091-6490
Date Issued
2022
Author(s)
Nicole Legate
Thuy-vy Nguyen
Netta Weinstein
Arlen Moller
Lisa Legault
Zahir Vally
Zuzanna Tajchman
Andras N. Zsido
Miha Zrimsek
Zhang Chen
Ignazio Ziano
Zoi Gialitaki
Chris D. Ceary
Yuna Jang
Yijun Lin
Yoshihiko Kunisato
Yuki Yamada
Qinyu Xiao
Xiaoming Jiang
Xinkai Du
Elvin Yao
William S. Ryan
John Paul Wilson
Wilson Cyrus-Lai
William Jimenez-Leal
Wilbert Law
Wenceslao Unanue
W. Matthew Collins
Karley L. Richard
Marek Vranka
Vladislav Ankushev
Vidar Schei
Veronika Lerche
Vanja Kovic
Valerija Križanić
Veselina Hristova Kadreva
Vera Cubela Adoric
Ulrich S. Tran
Siu Kit Yeung
Widad Hassan
Ralph Houston
Michael A. Machin
Tiago J. S. Lima
Thomas Ostermann
Thomas Frizzo
Therese E. Sverdrup
Thea House
Tripat Gill
Maksim Fedotov
Tamar Paltrow
Teodor Jernsäther
Tasnim Rahman
Tanya Machin
Maria Koptjevskaja-Tamm
Thomas J. Hostler
Tatsunori Ishii
Barnabas Szaszi
Sylwia Adamus
Lilian Suter
Suparpit M. von Bormann
Sumaiya Habib
Anna Studzinska
Dragana Stojanovska
Steve M. J. Janssen
Stefan Stieger
Stefan E. Schulenberg
Srinivasan Tatachari
Soufian Azouaghe
Piotr Sorokowski
Agnieszka Sorokowska
Xin Song
Sofie Morbée
Savannah Lewis
Sladjana Sinkolova
Dmitry Grigoryev
Shira Meir Drexler
Shimrit Daches
Shelby L. Levine
Shawn N. Geniole
Shahunur Akter
Selena Vračar
Sébastien Massoni
Sebastiano Costa
Saša Zorjan
Eylul Sarioguz
Sara Morales Izquierdo
Sarah Suzette Tshonda
Sara G. Alves
Sara Pöntinen
Sara Álvarez Solas
Santiago Ordoñez-Riaño
Sanja Batić Očovaj
Sandersan Onie
Samuel Lins
Theresa Biberauer
Sami Çoksan
Sakda Khumkom
Asli Sacakli
Susana Ruiz-Fernández
Sandra J. Geiger
Saeideh FatahModares
Radoslaw B. Walczak
Ruben Betlehem
Roosevelt Vilar
Rodrigo A. Cárcamo
Robert M. Ross
Randy McCarthy
Tonia Ballantyne
Erin C. Westgate
Richard M. Ryan
Rafael Gargurevich
Reza Afhami
Dongning Ren
Renan P. Monteiro
Ulf-Dietrich Reips
Niv Reggev
Robert J. Calin-Jageman
Razieh Pourafshari
Raquel Oliveira
Mina Nedelcheva-Datsova
Rima-Maria Rahal
Rafael R. Ribeiro
Theda Radtke
Rachel Searston
Rachadaporn Jai-ai
Redeate Habte
Przemysław Zdybek
Sau-Chin Chen
Piyaorn Wajanatinapart
Princess Lovella G. Maturan
Jennifer T. Perillo
Peder Mortvedt Isager
Pavol Kačmár
Paulo Manuel Macapagal
Michael R. Maniaci
Paulina Szwed
Paul H. P. Hanel
Paul A. G. Forbes
Patricia Arriaga
Bastien Paris
Neha Parashar
Konstantinos Papachristopoulos
Pablo Sebastián Correa
Ondřej Kácha
Márcia Bernardo
Olatz Campos
Olalla Niño Bravo
Oscar J. Galindo-Caballero
Chisom Esther Ogbonnaya
Olga Bialobrzeska
Natalia Kiselnikova
Nicolle Simonovic
Noga Cohen
Nora L. Nock
Alejandrina Hernandez
Cecilie Thogersen-Ntoumani
Nikos Ntoumanis
Niklas Johannes
Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir
Nicolas Say
Andreas B. Neubauer
Neil I. Martin
Nathan Torunsky
Natasha van Antwerpen
Natalia Van Doren
Naoyuki Sunami
Nikolay R. Rachev
Nadyanna M. Majeed
Nadya-Daniela Schmidt
Khaoula Nadif
Nadia S. Corral-Frías
Nihal Ouherrou
Nida Abbas
Myrto Pantazi
Marc Y. Lucas
Martin R. Vasilev
María Victoria Ortiz
Muhammad Mussaffa Butt
Murathan Kurfalı
Muhib Kabir
Rafał Muda
María del Carmen MC Tejada Rivera
Miroslav Sirota
Martin Seehuus
Michal Parzuchowski
Mónica Toro
Monika Hricova
Mónica Alarcón Maldonado
Panagiotis Rentzelas
Maarten Vansteenkiste
Molly A. Metz
Magdalena Marszalek
Maria Karekla
Giovanna Mioni
Minke Jasmijn Bosma
Minja Westerlund
Milica Vdovic
Michal Bialek
Miguel A. Silan
Michele Anne
Michal Misiak
Maria C. Gugliandolo
Maurice Grinberg
Mariagrazia Capizzi
Mauricio F. Espinoza Barría
Merve A. Kurfali
Michael C. Mensink
Mikayel Harutyunyan
Meetu Khosla
Megan R. Dunn
Max Korbmacher
Matúš Adamkovič
Matheus Fernando Felix Ribeiro
Maria Terskova
Matej Hruška
Marcel Martončik
Martin Voracek
Martin Čadek
Martha Frias-Armenta
Marta Kowal
Marta Topor
Marta Roczniewska
Marlies Oosterlinck
Markéta Braun Kohlová
Mariola Paruzel-Czachura
Marina Sabristov
Marina Romanova
Marietta Papadatou-Pastou
Maria Louise Lund
Maria Antoniadi
Maria Elena Magrin
Marc V. Jones
Manyu Li
Manuel S. Ortiz
Mathi Manavalan
Abdumalik Muminov
Małgorzata Kossowska
Maja Friedemann
Magdalena Wielgus
Madelon L.M. van Hooff
Marco A. C. Varella
Martyn Standage
Matilde Nicolotti
Melissa F. Colloff
Maria Bradford
Leigh Ann Vaughn
Luis Eudave
Luc Vieira
Jackson G. Lu
Lina Maria Sanabria Pineda
Lennia Matos
Laura Calderón Pérez
Ljiljana B. Lazarevic
Lisa M. Jaremka
Eline Suzanne Smit
Elizaveta Kushnir
Lisa J. Ferguson
Lisa Anton-Boicuk
Gabriel Lins de Holanda Coelho
Lina Ahlgren
Francesca Liga
Carmel A. Levitan
Leticia Micheli
Lesley-Ann Gunton
Leonhard Volz
Marija Stojanovska
Leanne Boucher
Lara Samojlenko
Lady Grey Javela Delgado
Lada Kaliska
Labadi Beatrix
Lara Warmelink
Luis Miguel Rojas-Berscia
Karen Yu
Keith Wylie
Jakub Wachowicz
Kermeka Desai
Krystian Barzykowski
Luca Kozma
Kortnee Evans
Komila Kirgizova
Bamikole B. Emmanuel Agesin
Monica A. Koehn
Kelly Wolfe
Tatiana Korobova
Katherine Morris
Kristoffer Klevjer
Kevin van Schie
Kevin Vezirian
Kaja Damnjanović
Katrine Krabbe Thommesen
Kathleen Schmidt
Katarzyna Filip
Karolina Staniaszek
Karolina Grzech
Karlijn Hoyer
Karis Moon
Sirikon Khaobunmasiri
Kafeel Rana
Kristina Janjić
Jordan W. Suchow
Julita Kielińska
Julio E. Cruz Vásquez
Julien Chanal
Julia Beitner
Juan Camilo Vargas-Nieto
Jose Carlos T. Roxas
Jennifer Taber
Joan Urriago-Rayo
Jeffrey M. Pavlacic
Jozef Benka
Jozef Bavolar
José A. Soto
Jonas K. Olofsson
Johannes K. Vilsmeier
Johanna Messerschmidt
Johanna Czamanski-Cohen
Joachim Waterschoot
Jennifer D. Moss
Jordane Boudesseul
Jeong Min Lee
Julia Kamburidis
Jennifer A. Joy-Gaba
Janis Zickfeld
Jacob F. Miranda
Jeroen P. H. Verharen
Evgeniya Hristova
Julie E. Beshears
Jasna Milosevic Djordjevic
Jasmijn Bosch
Jaroslava Varella Valentova
Jan Antfolk
Jana B. Berkessel
Jana Schrötter
Jan Urban
Jan Philipp Röer
James O. Norton
Jade S. Pickering
Jáchym Vintr
Jim Uttley
Jonas R. Kunst
Izuchukwu L. G. Ndukaihe
Aishwarya Iyer
Iris Vilares
Aleksandr Ivanov
Ivan Ropovik
Isabela Sula
Irena Sarieva
Irem Metin-Orta
Irina Prusova
Isabel Pinto
Andreea Ioana Bozdoc
Inês A. T. Almeida
Ilse L. Pit
Ilker Dalgar
Ilya Zakharov
Azuka Ikechukwu Arinze
Keiko Ihaya
Ian D. Stephen
Biljana Gjoneska
Hilmar Brohmer
Heather Flowe
Hendrik Godbersen
Halil Emre Kocalar
Mattie V. Hedgebeth
Hu Chuan-Peng
MohammadHasan Sharifian
Harry Manley
Handan Akkas
Nandor Hajdu
Habiba Azab
Gwenael Kaminski
Gustav Nilsonne
Gulnaz Anjum
Giovanni A. Travaglino
Gilad Feldman
Gerit Pfuhl
Gabriela Czarnek
Gabriela Mariana Marcu
Gabriela Hofer
Gabriel Banik
Gabriel Agboola Adetula
Gijsbert Bijlstra
Frederick Verbruggen
Franki Y. H. Kung
Frank Martela
Francesco Foroni
Jacques Forest
Gage Singer
Fany Muchembled
Flavio Azevedo
Farnaz Mosannenzadeh
Evelina Marinova
Eva Štrukelj
Zahra Etebari
Emma L. Bradshaw
Ernest Baskin
Elkin Oswaldo Luis Garcia
Erica Musser
I.M.M. van Steenkiste
El Rim Ahn
Eleanor Quested
Ekaterina Pronizius
Emily A. Jackson
Efisio Manunta
Elena Agadullina
Dušana Šakan
Pinar Dursun
Olivier Dujols
Dmitrii Dubrov
Megan Willis
Murat Tümer
Jennifer L. Beaudry
Dora Popović
Daniel Dunleavy
Ikhlas Djamai
Dino Krupić
Dora Herrera
Diego Vega
Hongfei Du
Débora Mola
Desislava Chakarova
William E. Davis
Dawn Liu Holford
David M. G. Lewis
David C. Vaidis
Daphna Hausman Ozery
Danilo Zambrano Ricaurte
Daniel Storage
Daniela Sousa
Daniela Serrato Alvarez
Daniel Boller
Anna Dalla Rosa
Daliborka Dimova
Dajana Krupić
Dafne Marko
David Moreau
Crystal Reeck
Rita C. Correia
Cassie M. Whitt
Claus Lamm
Claudio Singh Solorzano
Claudia C. von Bastian
Clare AM Sutherland
Clara Overkott
Christopher L. Aberson
Chunhui Wang
Christopher P. Niemiec
Christiana Karashiali
Chris Noone
Faith Chiu
Chiara Picciocchi
Charlotte Brownlow
Cemre Karaarslan
Nicola Cellini
Celia Esteban-Serna
Cecilia Reyna
Cecilia Ferreyra
Carlota Batres
Ranran Li
Caterina Grano
Joelle Carpentier
Christian K. Tamnes
Cynthia H.Y. Fu
Byurakn Ishkhanyan
Lisa Bylinina
Bastian Jaeger
Carsten Bundt
Tara Bulut Allred
Branko J. Vermote
Ahmed Bokkour
Natalia Bogatyreva
Jiaxin Shi
William J. Chopik
Benedict Antazo
Behzad Behzadnia
Maja Becker
Manal M. Bayyat
Beatrice Cocco
Wei-Lun Chou
Vassilis Barkoukis
Barbora Hubena
Barbara Žuro
Balazs Aczel
Ekaterina Baklanova
Hui Bai
Busra Bahar Balci
Peter Babinčák
Bart Soenens
Barnaby James Wyld Dixson
Aviv Mokady
Heather Barry Kappes
Mohammad Atari
Anna Szala
Anna Szabelska
John Jamir Benzon Aruta
Artur Domurat
Nwadiogo Chisom Arinze
Arianna Modena
Arca Adiguzel
Arash Monajem
Kanza AIT EL ARABI
Asil Ali Özdoğru
Alex O. Rothbaum
Andriana Theodoropoulou
Adriana Olaya Torres
Anna Skowronek
Anita Penić Jurković
Anisha Singh
Angelos P. Kassianos
Andrej Findor
Andree Hartanto
Anais Thibault Landry
Ana Ferreira
Anabela Caetano Santos
Anabel De la Rosa-Gomez
Amélie Gourdon-Kanhukamwe
Alexandria M. Luxon
Anna Louise Todsen
Alper Karababa
Allison Janak
Alice Pilato
Alexandre Bran
Alexa M. Tullett
Anna O. Kuzminska
Anthony J. Krafnick
Anum Urooj
Ahmed Khaoudi
Afroja Ahmed
Agata Groyecka-Bernard
Adrian Dahl Askelund
Adeyemi Adetula
Anabel Belaus
Abdelilah Ca Charyate
Aaron L. Wichman
Alina Stoyanova
Anna Greenburgh
Andrew G. Thomas
Alexios Arvanitis
Patrick S. Forscher
Peter R. Mallik
Nicholas A. Coles
Jeremy K. Miller
Hannah Moshontz
Heather L. Urry
Hans IJzerman
Dana M. Basnight-Brown
Charles R. Ebersole
Christopher R. Chartier
Erin M. Buchanan
Maximilian A. Primbs
Type
Resource Types::text::journal::journal article
DOI
URL
Abstract
<jats:p> Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment ( <jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges. </jats:p>
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