Integrating social cognitive theory and public relations literature, this study examines the effectiveness of organizations' transparent communication in building public trust and encouraging health-protection behaviours (i.e. social distancing) during a pandemic, that is, the COVID-19 outbreak. Three aspects of transparent communication are investigated, namely information substantiality, accountability and participation. Results of an online survey of American citizens show that during the early stage of COVID-19, information substantiality by state governments and health institutes (e.g., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) increases publics' trust, which positively influences their perceived risks, behavioural control and subjective norms. The participation of health institutes, rather than state governments, significantly increases public trust, whereas accountability has no effects. Individuals' perceptions and attitudes towards social distancing predict their social distancing behaviour during the outbreak. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

中文翻译：

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沟通透明度和组织信任在公众认知、态度和社交距离行为中的作用：以 COVID-19 疫情为例

本研究将社会认知理论和公共关系文献相结合，检验了在大流行（即 COVID-19 爆发）期间组织透明沟通在建立公众信任和鼓励健康保护行为（即社会疏远）方面的有效性。对透明沟通的三个方面进行了调查，即信息实质性、问责制和参与。对美国公民的在线调查结果表明，在 COVID-19 的早期阶段，州政府和卫生机构（例如疾病控制和预防中心）提供的大量信息增加了公众的信任，这对他们感知的风险产生了积极影响，行为控制和主观规范。卫生机构的参与，而不是州政府的参与，显着增加公众信任，而问责制没有效果。个人对社交距离的看法和态度可以预测他们在疫情爆发期间的社交距离行为。讨论了理论和实践意义。