RAPID: The impact of norms and emotions on social distancing during COVID-19

Prior to the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, the U.S. had never attempted to influence high-commitment behaviors at such a large-scale for an extended period. Humans are "social animals"; promoting behaviors that protect the health of the community, like physical distancing, is against our social nature and difficult to maintain without people who truly believe in the importance of protecting others. The nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and peoples? response to it are changing quickly as the social media and policy environment changes. Daily (even hourly) attention to the news and social media posts is more commonplace during crises, and this volume of exposure to information affects how we see and feel about the world; ultimately it drives what we do. Yet, it is rare to be able to document these rapid changes in real time. This study uses the team?s advances in communication modeling and analysis of social media to examine the dynamic relationships between social norms, emotions (including anger and guilt), and COVID-19 risk reduction behaviors using social media data and self-report surveys over the course of 2 months. This research can serve as the basis for communication efforts to promote behaviors to slow the spread of the disease and it can explain how social norms change over time. The Michigan State University Health and Risk Communication Center supports the movement of the research findings into practice.

Descriptive social norms (what is common) and injunctive norms (approved by others) are likely to evolve more quickly during a crisis relative to other times; yet studying norm evolution in real time is challenging. The evolution of norms is, in part, shaped by communication, both mediated and interpersonal. The advent of physical distancing in the COVID-19 pandemic means a greater reliance on media for information and fewer interpersonal contacts. Understanding the genesis of norms, and their evolution in real time during a global pandemic is critical because norms predict risk behaviors. Moreover, individuals? perceptions of their compliance with descriptive and injunctive norms co-vary with discrete emotions and risk behaviors like physical distancing. This research proposes and tests predictions about relationships among social norms, discrete emotions (including anger and guilt), and risk reduction through physical distancing. The methods combine a rolling cross-sectional survey and social media scraping techniques. The study leverages a recently completed national Qualtrics survey as a baseline. The project findings are translated for use in communication interventions to promote risk reduction and reduce COVID-19 transmission and future infectious disease outbreaks.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.