Using core values and social influence to increase mask-wearing in non-compliant college students

Abstract

Determining the best way to increase public health behaviors like mask-wearing in non-compliant individuals remains an important problem. In this two-part study, we examined the correlates of mask non-compliance in undergraduates at a selective East Coast university, and then developed an intervention designed to appeal to individuals with those traits. We found that being politically conservative and favoring the core values of respect for authority and in-group loyalty were associated with mask non-compliance. We then developed two novel public service announcement (PSA) videos. One featured peer campus leaders (e.g. the president of the College Republicans) to appeal to both social influence and the core values of authority and loyalty. The other featured national and local health care authorities. We found that (a) conservative students rated the two videos as equally authoritative, while liberal students rated the health authority PSA to be significantly more authoritative; (b) conservative participants significantly increased their self-reported mask-wearing rates compared to baseline, narrowing the gap in compliance substantially; and (c) the two PSAs were equally effective for conservative students at increasing mask-wearing. This study shows that public health interventions that target the values and beliefs associated with non-compliance may best influence behavior.

Keywords: COVID-19; Health behavior; Masks; Public health; Risk; Values.