Abstract

There is an urgent need to persuade the public to follow behavioral guidelines in order to end the COVID-19 pandemic. Using cognitive dissonance as a guide, the current study’s aim was to increase compliance with coronavirus safety measures, such as social distancing, wearing masks, and getting vaccinated. In Phase 1, participants experienced dissonance by advocating consistent adherence to safety protocols and recalling instances when they did not follow them. Their attitudes and behavioral intentions were measured. A week later, we assessed reported behavior. We found that dissonance participants complied more with guidelines and were more likely to seek vaccination than participants in three non-dissonance control conditions. We conclude by recommending ways of implementing the findings in the current COVID-19 crisis.

摘要

迫切需要说服公众遵循行为准则，以结束 COVID-19 大流行。目前的研究以认知失调为指导，旨在提高对冠状病毒安全措施的依从性，例如社交距离、戴口罩和接种疫苗。在第 1 阶段，参与者通过提倡始终遵守安全协议并回忆不遵守安全协议的情况而感到不协调。他们的态度和行为意图被测量。一周后，我们评估了报告的行为。我们发现，与三种非失调控制条件下的参与者相比，失调参与者更遵守指南，并且更有可能寻求疫苗接种。最后，我们推荐了在当前 COVID-19 危机中实施调查结果的方法。