Motivating the public to protect themselves: the case of the first lockdown in France

Motiver la population à se protéger: le cas du premier confinement en France

Marie-Ève Laporte () and Fabienne Berger-Remy ()
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Marie-Ève Laporte: RITM - Réseaux Innovation Territoires et Mondialisation - Université Paris-Saclay
Fabienne Berger-Remy: DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: This research uses the Terror Management Health Model to study the scope and limits of relying on a threat-solution approach in public communication in times of crisis, and to identify levers likely to encourage appropriate behaviors, by analyzing the extreme case of the first lockdown (March - May 2020) in France. A qualitative study was conducted during the first lockdown in France, involving an exploratory phase of observing online conversations followed by 17 semi-structured interviews with citizens. The results highlight that government communication encouraged some people to comply with the confinement, based on a classic public health discourse consisting of raising the threat and providing the solution. However, this approach showed limits and led some individuals to draw on other resources: a sense of shared destiny and a peaceful relationship with death. This research calls into question the long-term effectiveness of an approach based solely on the activation of proximal defenses, and demonstrates the value of activating distal defenses in times of crisis. On a theoretical level, it offers an in-depth understanding of how distal defenses function. At managerial level, it suggests new avenues for action and public crisis communication: after the initial response, communication must empower individuals, be agile and differentiated according to their profiles, and involve local authorities and stakeholders.

Keywords: Terror Management Health Model; government communication; crisis; death anxiety; covid 19; modèle de la gestion de la peur en santé; communication gouvernementale; crise; peur de la mort (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-04-16
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Published in Revue internationale de psychosociologie et de gestion des comportements organisationnels, 2024, Vol. XXX (80), pp.35-58. ⟨10.3917/rips1.080.0035⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04578620

DOI: 10.3917/rips1.080.0035

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