🚨OUT NOW🚨
We surveyed 26,000 people in 8 countries during the 1st weeks of #covid19: bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bj…
An urgent sense of crisis made people disregard fear and trust and say, "tell us what to do & we'll do it", leading to history's largest behavioral change.
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We surveyed 26,000 people in 8 countries during the 1st weeks of #covid19: bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bj…
An urgent sense of crisis made people disregard fear and trust and say, "tell us what to do & we'll do it", leading to history's largest behavioral change.
🧵[1/8]
In normal times, protective behavior is often driven by fear (tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108…). Yet, work by @SusanMichie suggest that a sense of self-efficacy is key during a massive pandemic crisis (bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…). We confirm this. [2/8]
From March to May, we surveyed more than 26,000 individuals across 8 countries: 🇺🇸🇩🇰🇮🇹🇬🇧🇭🇺🇸🇪🇩🇪🇫🇷. We found high levels of especially avoidant (distancing) but also preventive (handwashing) across all countries, independently of covid-cases and policies. [3/8]
While personal worry did correlate with individual-level protective behavior, self-efficacy was equally strong, if not stronger. Two alternative routes, trust in others and in the system, did not contribute positively to compliance. [4/8]
The strength of the correlations for self-efficacy were consistent across countries. Furthermore, using a panel component of the data, we provide evidence that self-efficacy can change and that these changes drive protective behavior. [5/8]
Finally, when self-efficacy was high there were little additional effects of worry on either avoidant or preventive behavior. Hence, knowing what to do and feeling capable of doing it created a pathway to compliance without fear. [6/8]
These results are not just of historic interest. They are key for authorities here and now. Fear may foster distress, support of undemocratic means and, as shown here, may not be most effective.
Authorities should focus on fostering efficacy, through clear communication. [7/8]
Authorities should focus on fostering efficacy, through clear communication. [7/8]
The preprint is available here as well as links to data and command files: psyarxiv.com/uzwgf. [THE END]
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