Three preregistered experiments examined to what extent information about an epidemic situation provided by experts and information about anti-infection policies promoted by governments/media... Show moreThree preregistered experiments examined to what extent information about an epidemic situation provided by experts and information about anti-infection policies promoted by governments/media influenced anti-infection behaviors. The above effects were examined among populations from different countries (in Experiments 2 and 3) and across self-construals (in Experiment 3). In three experiments, participants (N =706) were presented with a scenario where experts provided (or did not provide) information about an epidemic situation and governments/media promoted (or did not promote) information about anti-infection policies. After that, participants indicated their willingness to adopt anti-infection behaviors. Results across three experiments showed that both types of information independently increased participants’ anti-infection behaviors. In Experiments 2 and 3, we further found that the epidemic information had a larger impact on inducing anti-infection behaviors than the policy information, which was robust and consistent across countries and self-construals. Findings were discussed under the framework of social influence and in terms of practical implications for pandemic situations like the COVID-19. Show less
Mason, C.; Putten, P.W.H. van der; Duijn, M. van 2020
Computer simulations have been used to model psychological and sociological phenomena in order to provide insight into how they affect human behavior and population-wide systems. In this study,... Show moreComputer simulations have been used to model psychological and sociological phenomena in order to provide insight into how they affect human behavior and population-wide systems. In this study, three agent-based simulations (ABSs) were developed to model opinion dynamics in an online social media context. The main focus was to test the effects of ‘social identity’ and ‘certainty’ on social influence. When humans interact, they influence each other’s opinions and behavior. It was hypothesized that the influence of other agents based on ingroup/outgroup perceptions can lead to extremism and polarization under conditions of uncertainty. The first two simulations isolated social identity and certainty respectively to see how social influence would shape the attitude formation of the agents, and the opinion distribution by extension. Problems with previous models were remedied to some extent, but not fully resolved. The third combined the two to see if the limitations of both designs would be ameliorated with added complexity. The combination proved to be moderating, and while stable opinion clusters form, extremism and polarization do not develop in the system without added forces. Show less
