IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/osf/socarx/tkrs7.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Face-Saving Strategies Increase Self-Reported Non-Compliance with COVID-19 Preventive Measures: Experimental Evidence from 12 Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Daoust, Jean-François
  • Bélanger, Éric

    (McGill University)

  • Dassonneville, Ruth
  • Lachapelle, Erick
  • Nadeau, Richard
  • Becher, Michael
  • Brouard, Sylvain
  • Foucault, Martial
  • Hönnige, Christoph
  • Stegmueller, Daniel

Abstract

Studies of citizens’ compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures routinely rely on survey data. While 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 face-saving-strategy that was recently proposed by Daoust et al. (2020) to loosen this constraint are generalizable across twelve countries, and whether the treatment effect varies across subgroups. Our findings show that the face-saving strategy is a very 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.

Suggested Citation

  • Daoust, Jean-François & Bélanger, Éric & Dassonneville, Ruth & Lachapelle, Erick & Nadeau, Richard & Becher, Michael & Brouard, Sylvain & Foucault, Martial & Hönnige, Christoph & Stegmueller, Daniel, 2020. "Face-Saving Strategies Increase Self-Reported Non-Compliance with COVID-19 Preventive Measures: Experimental Evidence from 12 Countries," SocArXiv tkrs7, Center for Open Science.
  • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:tkrs7
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/tkrs7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://osf.io/download/5f56e915df5dbc0156139236/
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.31219/osf.io/tkrs7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert West & Susan Michie & G. James Rubin & Richard Amlôt, 2020. "Applying principles of behaviour change to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 4(5), pages 451-459, May.
    2. Marc Höglinger & Ben Jann, 2018. "More is not always better: An experimental individual-level validation of the randomized response technique and the crosswise model," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(8), pages 1-22, August.
    3. Martin Larsen & Jacob Nyrup & Michael Bang Petersen, 2020. "Do Survey Estimates of the Public’s Compliance with COVID-19 Regulations Suffer from Social Desirability Bias?," Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration, vol. 3(2).
    4. Daoust, Jean-François & Nadeau, Richard & Dassonneville, Ruth & Lachapelle, Erick & Bélanger, Éric & Savoie, Justin & van der Linden, Clifton, 2020. "How to survey citizens’ compliance with COVID-19 public health measures? Evidence from three survey experiments," SocArXiv gursd, Center for Open Science.
    5. Diana C. Mutz & Robin Pemantle & Philip Pham, 2019. "The Perils of Balance Testing in Experimental Design: Messy Analyses of Clean Data," The American Statistician, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 73(1), pages 32-42, January.
    6. Ian MacGregor-Fors & Mark E Payton, 2013. "Contrasting Diversity Values: Statistical Inferences Based on Overlapping Confidence Intervals," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(2), pages 1-4, February.
    7. Morin-Chassé, Alexandre & Bol, Damien & Stephenson, Laura B. & Labbé St-Vincent, Simon, 2017. "How to Survey About Electoral Turnout? The Efficacy of the Face-Saving Response Items in 19 Different Contexts," Political Science Research and Methods, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(3), pages 575-584, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Daoust, Jean-François & Nadeau, Richard & Dassonneville, Ruth & Lachapelle, Erick & Bélanger, Éric & Savoie, Justin & van der Linden, Clifton, 2020. "How to survey citizens’ compliance with COVID-19 public health measures? Evidence from three survey experiments," SocArXiv gursd, Center for Open Science.
    2. J -F Daoust, 2020. "Elderly people and responses to COVID-19 in 27 Countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-13, July.
    3. Michael Becher & Daniel Stegmueller & Sylvain Brouard & Eric Kerrouche, 2021. "Ideology and compliance with health guidelines during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A comparative perspective," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(5), pages 2106-2123, September.
    4. Höglinger, Marc & Diekmann, Andreas, 2017. "Uncovering a Blind Spot in Sensitive Question Research: False Positives Undermine the Crosswise-Model RRT," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(1), pages 131-137, January.
    5. Francesco Bogliacino & Rafael Charris & Camilo Gómez & Felipe Montealegre & Cristiano Codagnone, 2021. "Expert endorsement and the legitimacy of public policy. Evidence from Covid19 mitigation strategies," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3-4), pages 394-415, April.
    6. Hubert, Philipp & Abdel Hadi, Sascha & Mojzisch, Andreas & Häusser, Jan Alexander, 2022. "The effects of organizational climate on adherence to guidelines for COVID-19 prevention," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    7. Burgstaller, Lilith & Feld, Lars P. & Pfeil, Katharina, 2022. "Working in the shadow: Survey techniques for measuring and explaining undeclared work," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 661-671.
    8. Seres, Gyula & Balleyer, Anna Helen & Cerutti, Nicola & Danilov, Anastasia & Friedrichsen, Jana & Liu, Yiming & Süer, Müge, 2021. "Face masks increase compliance with physical distancing recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 7(2), pages 139-158.
    9. Christopher Winchester & Kelsey E. Medeiros, 2023. "In Bounds but Out of the Box: A Meta-Analysis Clarifying the Effect of Ethicality on Creativity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(3), pages 713-743, March.
    10. Natalie J Shook & Barış Sevi & Jerin Lee & Benjamin Oosterhoff & Holly N Fitzgerald, 2020. "Disease avoidance in the time of COVID-19: The behavioral immune system is associated with concern and preventative health behaviors," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-15, August.
    11. Pete Leasure & Hunter M. Boehme, 2024. "An Experimental Investigation Examining the Impact of Medical Association Statements about Drug Addiction on Perceptions of Criminal Culpability and Punishment," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-8, July.
    12. Panarello, Demetrio & Tassinari, Giorgio, 2022. "One year of COVID-19 in Italy: are containment policies enough to shape the pandemic pattern?," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    13. Pier Francesco Perri & Eleni Manoli & Tasos C. Christofides, 2023. "Assessing the effectiveness of indirect questioning techniques by detecting liars," Statistical Papers, Springer, vol. 64(5), pages 1483-1506, October.
    14. Francesco Sarracino & Talita Greyling & Kelsey J. O'Connor & Chiara Peroni & Stephanie Rossouw, 2021. "Trust predicts compliance to Covid-19 containment policies: evidence from ten countries using big data," Department of Economics University of Siena 858, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    15. S. Rinken & S. Pasadas-del-Amo & M. Rueda & B. Cobo, 2021. "No magic bullet: estimating anti-immigrant sentiment and social desirability bias with the item-count technique," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(6), pages 2139-2159, December.
    16. Casoria, Fortuna & Galeotti, Fabio & Villeval, Marie Claire, 2021. "Perceived social norm and behavior quickly adjusted to legal changes during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 54-65.
    17. Simón A. Rella & Yuliya A. Kulikova & Emmanouil T. Dermitzakis & Fyodor A. Kondrashov, 2021. "Rates of SARS-COV-2 transmission and vaccination impact the fate of vaccine-resistant strains," Working Papers 2129, Banco de España.
    18. Vicente Javier Clemente-Suárez & Eduardo Navarro-Jiménez & Manuel Jimenez & Alberto Hormeño-Holgado & Marina Begoña Martinez-Gonzalez & Juan Camilo Benitez-Agudelo & Natalia Perez-Palencia & Carmen Ce, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in Public Mental Health: An Extensive Narrative Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-21, March.
    19. Filip Raciborski & Mateusz Jankowski & Mariusz Gujski & Jarosław Pinkas & Piotr Samel-Kowalik & Artur Zaczyński & Igor Pańkowski & Kamil Rakocy & Waldemar Wierzba, 2020. "Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Police Officers in Poland—Implications for Public Health Policies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-16, December.
    20. Peter Leasure & Robert J. Kaminski, 2021. "The Effectiveness of Certificates of Relief: A Correspondence Audit of Hiring Outcomes," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(4), pages 849-875, December.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:tkrs7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: OSF (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://arabixiv.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.