Cristina Bicchieri, social norms expert and founding director of Penn’s Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences (MBDS), wanted to understand how different countries’ COVID-19 responses have been affecting individual behavior. Along with MBDS instructor Enrique Fatas, she developed a survey to determine how new social norms like mask-wearing and social distancing have emerged. Across nine countries, they found that these practices center around “expectations about the actions and beliefs of relevant others,” like family, friends, neighbors—and also more generally: people whose behavior matters on a larger scale.
Bicchieri said, “Public information and the media may change people’s expectations about what others do and what others believe is appropriate to do…their preference for engaging in new types of behavior must be conditional on having certain expectations.”
Changing expectations is a big part of the puzzle, but equally so is the importance of trusting science. Bicchieri said, “When we have major public health issues, if people don’t trust science, it’s useless to convince them that most people are complying with the new rules.”
Another critical action is tailoring messages to specific audiences in ways that show—not tell—what “relevant others” believe and do. For example, a story about someone adhering to lockdown guidance and social distancing leads someone to believe that person approves of those very behaviors.
And because “there is a lot of work to be done” to change people’s behaviors, Bicchieri’s next phase of research is to consider factors such as gender and income.
Read more about Cristina’s COVID-19 research at Penn Today >
