The purpose of this study is to (a) outline the formative steps that universities can follow to determine if a media campaign based on the social norms approach (SNA) is a viable method for increasing COVID-19 prevention behaviors among their students, (b) present formative research data collected at a large public land-grant university in the U.S., and (c) as a test case, apply that data to assess the SNA’s viability for promoting COVID-19 prevention behaviors among students at that institution. Over time, a series of fast-track surveys were conducted to determine the descriptive and injunctive norms for four COVID-19 prevention strategies: wearing a mask in public, physical distancing, limiting the size of indoor gatherings, and receiving or planning to get a vaccination. The results demonstrated that, at this particular university, an SNA-based public communications campaign would be a promising strategy for promoting these protective behaviors. First, a clear majority of the survey respondents reported engaging in the behaviors. Second, the respondents perceived the behaviors to be less common than was actually the case, with one exception: wearing a mask. In all four cases, they perceived the behaviors to be less approved of than what the surveys documented.

本研究的目的是 (a) 概述大学可以遵循的形成步骤，以确定基于社会规范方法 (SNA) 的媒体活动是否是增加学生 COVID-19 预防行为的可行方法，(b ) 展示在美国一所大型公立赠地大学收集的形成性研究数据，以及 (c) 作为测试案例，应用该数据来评估 SNA 在该机构学生中促进 COVID-19 预防行为的可行性。随着时间的推移，进行了一系列快速调查，以确定四种 COVID-19 预防策略的描述性和禁令性规范：在公共场合戴口罩、保持身体距离、限制室内聚会的规模以及接受或计划获得接种疫苗。结果表明，在这所特定的大学，基于 SNA 的公共传播运动将是促进这些保护行为的一个有前途的战略。首先，绝大多数受访者表示参与了这些行为。其次，受访者认为这些行为没有实际情况那么普遍，只有一个例外：戴口罩。在所有四种情况下，他们认为这些行为不如调查记录的行为受到认可。