Public health experts have advocated for wearing protective face masks to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, yet some populations are resistant. Can certain messages shift attitudes toward masks? We investigate the effect of value-consistent messages within a mask-skeptical population: White evangelicals in the United States. An experiment within a national survey of White evangelicals (n = 1,212) assigned respondents to one of three conditions: One group was given a religious message equating mask use with loving your neighbor, another was given a message by Donald Trump saying mask use is patriotic, and a control group received no message. Those exposed to the religious message were more likely to see mask use as important and were more supportive of mask mandates. Republican evangelicals exposed to the patriotism message had similar responses. These findings show that messages that align with individuals’ core values—in this case, religious tenets and patriotism—can shift certain views on mask use and government mask policies to combat COVID-19, even among a comparatively mask-resistant group.

公共卫生专家主张佩戴防护口罩来对抗 COVID-19 大流行，但有些人对此有抵抗力。某些信息能否改变人们对口罩的态度？我们调查了价值观一致的信息在对面具持怀疑态度的人群中的影响：美国的白人福音派。对白人福音派（ n = 1,212）进行的一项全国调查中的一项实验，将受访者分配给以下三个条件之一：一组人收到一条宗教信息，将使用口罩等同于爱你的邻居，另一组人收到唐纳德·特朗普的一条信息，称使用口罩是爱国的，对照组没有收到任何消息。那些接触过宗教信息的人更有可能认为戴口罩很重要，并且更支持戴口罩的规定。接触到爱国主义信息的共和党福音派人士也有类似的反应。这些发现表明，与个人核心价值观（在本例中为宗教信条和爱国主义）相一致的信息可以改变人们对口罩使用和政府口罩政策以对抗 COVID-19 的某些看法，即使是在相对抵制口罩的群体中也是如此。