How might messaging, reasoning, and philosophical beliefs predict people’s responses to pandemics? Michał Białek and I started wondering about this a few months ago. So we ran some experiments to find out. Our pre-registered hypothesis was wrong, but the other findings were really interesting. Before I get to the findings, consider making some predictions: ask yourself how you expect the following variables to correlate with compliance (or non-compliance) with public health officials’ recommendations such as mask-wearing and sheltering in place:
- Flatten the curve graphs: Related to compliance? More or less compliance?
- Reflective reasoning: Related to compliance? More or less compliance?
- Mathematical competence: Related to compliance? More or less compliance?
- Economic conservatism: Related to compliance? More or less compliance?
- Social conservatism: Related to compliance? More or less compliance?
- Libertarianism: Related to compliance? More or less compliance?
- Effective altruism: Related to compliance? More or less compliance?
- Utilitarian sacrificial harm: Related to compliance? More or less compliance?
- Belief in God: Related to compliance? More or less compliance?
- Religiosity: Related to compliance? More or less compliance?
- Compatibism about free will: Related to compliance? More or less compliance?
- Identifying as White: Related to compliance? More or less compliance?
- Identifying as a man: Related to compliance? More or less compliance?