"Keep your distance for me": A field experiment on empathy prompts to promote distancing during the COVID‐19 pandemic.
Saved in:
| Title: | "Keep your distance for me": A field experiment on empathy prompts to promote distancing during the COVID‐19 pandemic. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | de Ridder, Denise, Aarts, Henk, Benjamins, Jeroen, Glebbeek, Marie‐Louise, Leplaa, Hidde, Leseman, Paul, Potgieter, Renske, Tummers, Lars, Zondervan‐Zwijnenburg, Mariëlle |
| Source: | Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology. Jul/Aug2022, Vol. 32 Issue 4, p755-766. 12p. 1 Chart, 5 Graphs. |
| Subjects: | Empathy, Motivation (Psychology), Case-control method, At-risk people, Government policy, Social distancing, Social skills, Health promotion, COVID-19 pandemic |
| Abstract: | The outbreak of COVID‐19 has turned out to be a major challenge to societies all over the globe. Curbing the pandemic requires rapid and extensive behavioural change to limit social interaction, including physical distancing. In this study, we tested the notion that inducing empathy for people vulnerable to the virus may result in actual distancing behaviour beyond the mere motivation to do so. In a large field experiment with a sequential case–control design, we found that (a) empathy prompts may increase distancing as assessed by camera recordings and (b) effectiveness of prompts depends on the dynamics of the pandemic and associated public health policies. In sum, the present study demonstrates the potential of empathy‐generating interventions to promote pro‐social behaviour and emphasizes the necessity of field experiments to assess the role of context before advising policy makers to implement measures derived from behavioural science. Please refer to Supplementary Material to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
| Abstract: | The outbreak of COVID‐19 has turned out to be a major challenge to societies all over the globe. Curbing the pandemic requires rapid and extensive behavioural change to limit social interaction, including physical distancing. In this study, we tested the notion that inducing empathy for people vulnerable to the virus may result in actual distancing behaviour beyond the mere motivation to do so. In a large field experiment with a sequential case–control design, we found that (a) empathy prompts may increase distancing as assessed by camera recordings and (b) effectiveness of prompts depends on the dynamics of the pandemic and associated public health policies. In sum, the present study demonstrates the potential of empathy‐generating interventions to promote pro‐social behaviour and emphasizes the necessity of field experiments to assess the role of context before advising policy makers to implement measures derived from behavioural science. Please refer to Supplementary Material to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 10529284 |
| DOI: | 10.1002/casp.2593 |
