A guilt-free strategy increases self-reported non-compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures: Experimental evidence from 12 countries

Jean-François Daoust, Eric Bélanger, Ruth Dassonneville, Erick Lachapelle, Richard Nadeau, Michael Becher, Sylvain Brouard (), Martial Foucault (), Christoph Hönninge and Daniel Stegmueller
Additional contact information
Jean-François Daoust: Unknown
Eric Bélanger: Unknown
Ruth Dassonneville: Unknown
Erick Lachapelle: Unknown
Richard Nadeau: Unknown
Michael Becher: IAST - Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse
Sylvain Brouard: Unknown
Martial Foucault: Unknown
Christoph Hönninge: Unknown
Daniel Stegmueller: Unknown

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Abstract: Studies of citizens' compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures routinely rely on survey data. While such data are essential, public health restrictions provide clear signals of what is socially desirable in this context, creating a potential source of response bias in self-reported measures of compliance. In this research, we examine whether the results of a guilt-free strategy recently proposed to lessen this constraint are generalizable across twelve countries, and whether the treatment effect varies across subgroups. Our findings show that the guilt-free strategy is a useful tool in every country included, increasing respondents' proclivity to report non-compliance by 9 to 16 percentage points. This effect holds for different subgroups based on gender, age and education. We conclude that the inclusion of this strategy should be the new standard for survey research that aims to provide crucial data on the current pandemic.

Date: 2021-04
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published in PLoS ONE, 2021, vol.16 (n°4), ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0249914⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03244320

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249914

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