The governmental responses to the COVID-19 pandemic include concerns for both public health and formal social control. Government leaders asked the public to help mitigate the spread of the virus by adopting various protective behaviors. Our purpose was to evaluate and explain defiance of COVID-19 mitigation strategies, drawing from the expanded model of deterrence and protection motivation theory. A national sample of 600 American adults were surveyed about perceptions of, and behaviors during, the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, including defiance of COVID-19 mitigation strategies. Perceived severity of the disease, certainty about dying from it, and how much control one has over getting it each predicted fear of COVID-19. Defiance of COVID-19 mitigation guidelines appear to be a combination of rational choice considerations and emotions. Government and health officials should consider how the public evaluates messages about taking protective actions to maximize compliance.

政府对COVID-19大流行的应对措施包括对公共卫生和正式社会控制的关注。政府领导人要求公众采取各种保护性行为，以帮助减轻病毒的传播。我们的目的是从威慑和保护动机理论的扩展模型中评估和解释COVID-19缓解策略的挑战。对600名美国成年人的全国样本进行了调查，了解其对COVID-19大流行初期的看法和行为，包括对COVID-19缓解策略的蔑视。疾病的严重程度，死亡的确定性以及对疾病的控制程度，每个都预示着对COVID-19的恐惧。抵制COVID-19缓解准则似乎是理性选择考虑因素和情感的结合。