Using survey data of college students in India, we investigate whether COVID-19 optimistic bias among individuals increases risky behavior. We also explore whether participants' optimistic bias differs depending on their degree of closeness with others. We found that the presence of friends instead of neighbors/strangers make participants with high COVID-19 optimistic bias inclined to take more risks. Besides, it has been found that preventive behavioral norms followed by peers minimize risky behavior among participants with high optimistic bias. Our findings offer important implications for policymakers to minimize the transmission of the disease among college students.

使用印度大学生的调查数据，我们调查了个体之间的 COVID-19 乐观偏见是否会增加危险行为。我们还探讨了参与者的乐观偏见是否会根据他们与他人的亲密程度而有所不同。我们发现，朋友而不是邻居/陌生人的存在使具有高 COVID-19 乐观偏见的参与者倾向于承担更多风险。此外，已经发现，同伴遵循的预防性行为规范可以最大限度地减少具有高度乐观偏见的参与者的风险行为。我们的研究结果为决策者提供了重要的启示，以尽量减少大学生之间的疾病传播。