The influence of gain-loss framing and its interaction with political ideology on social distancing and mask wearing compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of cases and over half a million deaths in the United States. While health experts urge citizens to adopt preventative measures such as social distancing and wearing a mask, these recommended behaviors are not always followed by the public. To find a way to promote preventative measures, the present study examined the role of gain-loss framing of COVID-19 related messages on social distancing and mask wearing compliance. Moreover, the study also tested potential moderating effects on framing with three individual characteristics: political ideology, subjective numeracy, and risk attitude. A sample of 375 U.S. adult residents were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Each participant read either a gain or loss-framed message related to practicing protective behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants also completed scales of preventative behaviors, risk attitude, subjective numeracy, political ideology, and other demographic variables. It was found that those who were more liberal, risk-averse and had greater subjective numeracy were more likely to wear a mask and/or follow social distancing. Furthermore, in the presence of demographic and psychological factors, the study found participants in the loss-framed condition than in the gain-framed condition were more likely to adopt both preventative measures, supporting the notion of loss aversion. Additionally, the framing effect was also moderated by political ideology on mask-wearing, with the effect being stronger in liberals than in conservatives. Collectively, the study implies message framing may be a useful means to promote preventative measures in the current pandemic.

Effect of Information Framing on Wearing Masks During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Interaction With Social Norms and Information Credibility

“…In terms of income, people with highest level of income have lowest degree of compliance. Those who are seriously worried about the virus (possibly because of potential medical conditions) are more likely to wear masks ( 12 ), but people with high incomes have sufficient funds to obtain better medical care, which means that their compliance is lower. Moreover, we found that individuals with higher level of education were less likely to be compliant with wearing masks.…”

“…The measurement for assessing attitude toward adopting healthy behaviors was adapted from the research of Mir et al ( 37 ), including three items: “In my opinion, wearing a mask is an effective measure to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic,” “I will not resist wearing a mask”, and “I think wearing a mask is a necessary behavior”. The measurement for intention to wear masks was adapted from the research of Steffen et al ( 12 ) and included four items that appear in their study: “Based on the above statement about taking preventive measures, I decided to wear masks in public places,” “I would recommend my family and friends to wear masks,” “If the doctor/government suggests, I will strictly abide by the measures of wearing masks”, and “I intend to wear masks because it can block the spread of viruses”. The measurement for social norms was adapted from the research of Mir et al ( 37 ) and included four items that appear in their study: “My family suggested that I should wear a mask,” “My friends and colleagues influenced my decision to wear a mask,” “Important people influenced my decision to wear a mask”, and “The policy of epidemic prevention and control guidelines influenced my decision to wear a mask.” The measurement for information credibility was adapted from the research of Appelman ( 24 ) and Sundar ( 38 ) and mainly measures the accuracy, authenticity, and reliability of information through items such as “I think the above information is”.…”

“…Because our investigation was conducted in China, we did not emphasize political factors in our assessment. Steffen ( 12 ) studied the influence of information framing on wearing masks during the COVID-19 period and considered the potential influence of political ideology, computing ability of a supervisor, and risk attitude. However, these studies are only based on hypothetical ideas (such as how many people not wearing masks will die and how many lives can be saved by wearing masks) rather than actual experiences.…”

The effect of framing on attitudes towards Alzheimer’s disease. A comparative study between younger and older adults

“…This positive change in attitudes is related to the positive emotion of happiness induced by body-mind unity framing. Therefore, framing impacts on how the audience perceives and responds to a message, and hence it is essentially a fast way to change attitudes and behaviors [ 46 ].…”

Exploring the drivers of COVID-19 protective behaviors among Singaporean tourists to Indonesia using travel bubbles

“…Higher perceptions of travel intentions result in social distancing, hand hygiene and mask-wearing (Steffen & Cheng, 2021 ; Xu & Cheng, 2021 ). As part of the public health response, travel intentions motivate people to adhere to preventive behaviors such as keeping social distancing, washing hands and wearing masks (Bae & Chang, 2021 ).…”