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Prosociality predicts health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic

Campos-Mercade, Pol LU ; Meier, Armando ; Schneider, Florian and Wengström, Erik LU (2021) In Journal of Public Economics 195.
Abstract
Socially responsible behavior is crucial for slowing the spread of infectious diseases. However, economic and epidemiological models of disease transmission abstract from prosocial motivations as a driver of behaviors that impact the health of others. In an incentivized study, we show that a large majority of people are very reluctant to put others at risk for their personal benefit. Moreover, this experimental measure of prosociality predicts health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic, measured in a separate and ostensibly unrelated study with the same people. Prosocial individuals are more likely to follow physical distancing guidelines, stay home when sick, and buy face masks. We also find that prosociality measured two years before... (More)
Socially responsible behavior is crucial for slowing the spread of infectious diseases. However, economic and epidemiological models of disease transmission abstract from prosocial motivations as a driver of behaviors that impact the health of others. In an incentivized study, we show that a large majority of people are very reluctant to put others at risk for their personal benefit. Moreover, this experimental measure of prosociality predicts health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic, measured in a separate and ostensibly unrelated study with the same people. Prosocial individuals are more likely to follow physical distancing guidelines, stay home when sick, and buy face masks. We also find that prosociality measured two years before the pandemic predicts health behaviors during the pandemic. Our findings indicate that prosociality is a stable, long-term predictor of policy-relevant behaviors, suggesting that the impact of policies on a population may depend on the degree of prosociality. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Public Economics
volume
195
article number
104367
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85100471711
  • pmid:33531719
ISSN
0047-2727
DOI
10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104367
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
809cc51e-438c-4f73-b5fe-03f968c0bc1e
date added to LUP
2021-01-14 08:57:11
date last changed
2022-04-26 23:34:53
@article{809cc51e-438c-4f73-b5fe-03f968c0bc1e,
  abstract     = {{Socially responsible behavior is crucial for slowing the spread of infectious diseases. However, economic and epidemiological models of disease transmission abstract from prosocial motivations as a driver of behaviors that impact the health of others. In an incentivized study, we show that a large majority of people are very reluctant to put others at risk for their personal benefit. Moreover, this experimental measure of prosociality predicts health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic, measured in a separate and ostensibly unrelated study with the same people. Prosocial individuals are more likely to follow physical distancing guidelines, stay home when sick, and buy face masks. We also find that prosociality measured two years before the pandemic predicts health behaviors during the pandemic. Our findings indicate that prosociality is a stable, long-term predictor of policy-relevant behaviors, suggesting that the impact of policies on a population may depend on the degree of prosociality.}},
  author       = {{Campos-Mercade, Pol and Meier, Armando and Schneider, Florian and Wengström, Erik}},
  issn         = {{0047-2727}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Public Economics}},
  title        = {{Prosociality predicts health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104367}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104367}},
  volume       = {{195}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}