Science knowledge and trust in medicine affect individuals’ behavior in pandemic crises

Abstract

In pandemic crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals’ behavior has a strong impact on epidemiological processes during critical stages of the outbreak. Engaging in reasonable behavior, such as social distancing, is critical to avoid further spreading an infectious disease or to slow down its spread. However, some individuals also or instead engage in unreasonable behavior, such as panic buying. We investigate why different behavior occurs and how different types of knowledge and trust in medicine can encourage individuals to engage in reasonable behavior and prevent them from engaging in unreasonable behavior. Based on a sample of N = 1,182 adult Americans stratified by age and gender, we conclude that science knowledge has a prophylactic effect: We show that science knowledge helps individuals convert information into knowledge about the coronavirus. This knowledge then helps individuals avoid unreasonable behavior. Individuals lacking coronavirus knowledge and science knowledge still act reasonably when they have a general trust in medicine. Both trust in medicine and knowledge are crucial factors for individuals to act reasonably and avoid unreasonable behavior. Individuals with low knowledge or trust tend to engage in unreasonable behavior. Facilitating science knowledge and reasonable trust in medicine through education and targeted public health messaging are likely to be of fundamental importance for bringing crises such as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic under control.

The Intelligent Lockdown: Compliance with COVID-19 Mitigation Measures in the Netherlands

“…Plohl and Musil (2020) found in their global sample that trust in science predicts compliance with COVID-19 measures; people who have greater trust in science appeared to show greater compliance. Sailer et al (2020) found that in the US, more science knowledge and trust in medicine affects individual behavior, motivating, for example, social distancing. The perceived fear of the COVID-19 virus is globally associated with increased compliance (Harper et al 2020).…”

“…Various measures to further contain the spread have been initiated globally, such as social distancing, quarantine, isolation, or community containment (Anderson et al 2020, Wilder-Smith andFreedman 2020). But in order for such measures to be effective, it is crucial that citizens effectively comply with them (Sailer et al 2020). As such, compliance with the mitigation measures is essential to decrease mortality and to reduce an overburden of health care systems (Walker et al 2020).…”

The COVID-19 Contagion–Pandemic Dyad: A View from Social Sciences

“…The measures adopted by many countries and regions to establish quarantine, social isolation and community containment have profound implications beyond the purely medical and public health aspects in controlling this disease. On the one hand, they raise questions about individual freedom and human rights [14,23,[78][79][80][81][82][83]. On the other hand, social interactions and social institutions are central elements in the control of this disease [7,14,40], which brings out the importance of the Social Sciences' perspectives.…”

“…On the one hand, they raise questions about individual freedom and human rights [14,23,[78][79][80][81][82][83]. On the other hand, social interactions and social institutions are central elements in the control of this disease [7,14,40], which brings out the importance of the Social Sciences' perspectives. For example, concerning social interactions, in Southern European countries intergenerational interactions are more frequent than in other parts of Europe since social norms about providing support to family members and maintaining interpersonal family interactions are stronger than in Central and Northern European countries, which are less family-oriented [40].…”

“…The vast majority of countries [9][10][11] have imposed a set of preventive procedures and devices, in addition to medical tests, based on isolation, quarantine, community containment and physical distancing [12,13], travel restrictions, hand hygiene and the banning of events and gatherings. These measures have led to the temporary closure of several economic and social institutions, a relative national lockdown in several countries and enormous pressure on health systems [12,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. However, countries such as Sweden, South Korea and Taiwan did not impose total containment but followed a strategy that articulated quarantine targeting risk groups, monitoring, and large-scale testing, together with social distancing measures (even the use of masks).…”