
A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Author
- on behalf of the Psychological Science Accelerator Self-Determination Theory Collaboration, Zhang Chen (UGent) , Sofie Morbée (UGent) , Maarten Vansteenkiste (UGent) , Joachim Waterschoot (UGent) , Frederick Verbruggen (UGent) , Branko Vermote (UGent) , Bart Soenens (UGent) and on behalf of the Psychological Science Accelerator Self-Determination Theory Collaboration
- Organization
- Project
- Abstract
- Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one's core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people's existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges.
- Keywords
- behavior change, motivation, health communication, COVID-19, self-determination theory, FATIGUE, MESSAGES, INTENTIONS, PARENTAL PROHIBITION, BEHAVIOR, INTERNALIZATION, METAANALYSIS
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01GR1ME8WCGRQRB4DZ77Z9FGNY
- MLA
- Psychological Science Accelerator Self-Determination Theory Collaboration, on behalf of the, et al. “A Global Experiment on Motivating Social Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, vol. 119, no. 22, 2022, doi:10.1073/pnas.2111091119.
- APA
- Psychological Science Accelerator Self-Determination Theory Collaboration, on behalf of the, Chen, Z., Morbée, S., Vansteenkiste, M., Waterschoot, J., Verbruggen, F., … Psychological Science Accelerator Self-Determination Theory Collaboration, on behalf of the. (2022). A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 119(22). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2111091119
- Chicago author-date
- Psychological Science Accelerator Self-Determination Theory Collaboration, on behalf of the, Zhang Chen, Sofie Morbée, Maarten Vansteenkiste, Joachim Waterschoot, Frederick Verbruggen, Branko Vermote, Bart Soenens, and on behalf of the Psychological Science Accelerator Self-Determination Theory Collaboration. 2022. “A Global Experiment on Motivating Social Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 119 (22). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2111091119.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Psychological Science Accelerator Self-Determination Theory Collaboration, on behalf of the, Zhang Chen, Sofie Morbée, Maarten Vansteenkiste, Joachim Waterschoot, Frederick Verbruggen, Branko Vermote, Bart Soenens, and on behalf of the Psychological Science Accelerator Self-Determination Theory Collaboration. 2022. “A Global Experiment on Motivating Social Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 119 (22). doi:10.1073/pnas.2111091119.
- Vancouver
- 1.Psychological Science Accelerator Self-Determination Theory Collaboration on behalf of the, Chen Z, Morbée S, Vansteenkiste M, Waterschoot J, Verbruggen F, et al. A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 2022;119(22).
- IEEE
- [1]on behalf of the Psychological Science Accelerator Self-Determination Theory Collaboration et al., “A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.,” PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, vol. 119, no. 22, 2022.
@article{01GR1ME8WCGRQRB4DZ77Z9FGNY, abstract = {{Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one's core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people's existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges.}}, articleno = {{e2111091119}}, author = {{Psychological Science Accelerator Self-Determination Theory Collaboration, on behalf of the and Chen, Zhang and Morbée, Sofie and Vansteenkiste, Maarten and Waterschoot, Joachim and Verbruggen, Frederick and Vermote, Branko and Soenens, Bart and Psychological Science Accelerator Self-Determination Theory Collaboration, on behalf of the}}, issn = {{0027-8424}}, journal = {{PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA}}, keywords = {{behavior change,motivation,health communication,COVID-19,self-determination theory,FATIGUE,MESSAGES,INTENTIONS,PARENTAL PROHIBITION,BEHAVIOR,INTERNALIZATION,METAANALYSIS}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{22}}, pages = {{11}}, title = {{A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.}}, url = {{http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2111091119}}, volume = {{119}}, year = {{2022}}, }
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