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Traditional approaches to public health messaging suggest successful COVID-19 messages should communicate about the health threat and present effective protective behaviors. However, as the pandemic continues, how individual factors affect audience responses to such messages needs to be explored. We surveyed 224 U.S. residents (equal distribution among age group, education level, and gender) in a 2 (health threat information: high versus low) × 2 (self-efficacy information: present versus absent) × 2 (response efficacy information: present versus absent) experimental design. Variations in message information did not influence mask wearing and handwashing behavioral intentions. Instead, participant responses followed reactance theory predictions. Feelings of fear about COVID-19 and reactance proneness predicted a perceived freedom threat. Perceiving a freedom threat predicted reactance to the COVID-19 message, which was associated with decreased intentions to wear a mask and handwash. Political ideology was also associated with behavioral intentions. The more conservative a person identified, the less likely they were to intend to engage in COVID-19 protection behaviors. Our findings call into question the effectiveness of traditional health messaging during a pandemic and demonstrate the implications of politicizing health behaviors.

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