Compliance and Behavior: Studies During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The use of face masks as a tool against the spread of SARS-CoV-2 became a controversial topic due to its alleged negative behavioral effects. Most notably, WHO made multiple claims that their community use creates a false sense of security. Our work addresses this hypothesis using a simple field experimental design we conducted in Berlin during the peak of the epidemic. Two projects approach this from two angles: behavioral (rationale behind distancing) and policy (mask mandate). These field experiments deliver robust evidence that the risk compensation hypothesis is false. An ongoing third project funded by the Dr. Hans Riegel Foundation research grant addresses gender differences in compliance. Our research was cited by the white papers of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.
The Behavioral Effect of Face Masks: Publications
Face Mask Use and Physical Distancing before and after Mandatory Masking: Evidence from Public Waiting Lines, with Anna Balleyer, Nicola Cerutti, Jana Friedrichsen and Müge Süer, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 192 (2021) 765-781. (paper)
Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, the introduction of mandatory face mask usage triggered a heated debate. A major point of debate is whether community use of masks creates a false sense of security that would diminish physical distancing, counteracting any potential direct benefit from masking. We conducted a randomized field experiment in Berlin, Germany, to investigate how masks affect distancing and whether the mask effect interacts with the introduction of an indoor mask mandate. Joining waiting lines in front of stores, we measured distances kept from the experimenter in two treatment conditions -- the experimenter wore a mask in one and no face covering in the other - in two time spans - before and after mask use becoming mandatory in stores. We find no evidence that mandatory masking has a negative effect on distance kept toward a masked person. To the contrary, masks significantly increase distancing and the effect does not differ between the two periods. However, we show that after the mandate, distances are shorter in locations where more non-essential stores, which were closed before the mandate, had reopened. We argue that the relaxations in general restrictions that coincided with the mask mandate led individuals to reduce other precautions, like keeping a safe distance.
Face Masks Increase Compliance with Physical Distancing Recommendations During the COVID-19 Pandemic, with Anna Balleyer, Nicola Cerutti, Anastasia Danilov, Jana Friedrichsen, Yiming Liu and Müge Süer, Journal of the Economic Science Association, 7 (2021) 139-158, (paper)
Abstract Governments across the world have implemented restrictive policies to slow the spread of COVID-19. Recommended face mask use has been a controversially discussed policy, among others, due to potential adverse effects on physical distancing. Using a randomized field experiment (N=300), we show that individuals kept a significantly larger distance from someone wearing a face mask than from an unmasked person during the early days of the pandemic. According to an additional survey experiment (N=456) conducted at the time, masked individuals were not perceived as being more infectious than unmasked ones, but they were believed to prefer more distancing. This result suggests that, wearing a mask served as a social signal for a preferred greater distance that was respected by others. Our findings provide strong evidence against the claim that mask use creates a false sense of security that would negatively affect physical distancing.
Gender and Compliance
Do Women Really Comply More? Experimental Evidence from a Representative Sample, with Anna Balleyer, Nicola Cerutti, Jana Friedrichsen and Müge Süer. (Preliminary) Research grant provided by the Dr. Hans Riegel-Stiftung.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries heavily rely on individual compliance with new behavior recommendations. Previous survey-based studies revealed gender differences in compliance with COVID-19 recommendations. We developed a compliance game that allows us to study compliance in a controlled environment. Our study consists of two online experiments run with separate samples that are representative of the German adult population. The main experiment (N=1600) directly measures compliance behavior. In the second experiment (N=500), participants are confronted with a vignette of the main experiment in order to study potential explanations for the behavior observed in the main experiment. We obtain three main results: First, compliance does not vary between women and men but with perceived risk and beliefs. Second, men and women equally adjust their compliance decision to new information. Third, women are expected to be more compliant than men whereas perceived social appropriateness of compliance does not differ by gender.
The Behavioral Effect of Face Masks: Publications
Face Mask Use and Physical Distancing before and after Mandatory Masking: Evidence from Public Waiting Lines, with Anna Balleyer, Nicola Cerutti, Jana Friedrichsen and Müge Süer, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 192 (2021) 765-781. (paper)
Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, the introduction of mandatory face mask usage triggered a heated debate. A major point of debate is whether community use of masks creates a false sense of security that would diminish physical distancing, counteracting any potential direct benefit from masking. We conducted a randomized field experiment in Berlin, Germany, to investigate how masks affect distancing and whether the mask effect interacts with the introduction of an indoor mask mandate. Joining waiting lines in front of stores, we measured distances kept from the experimenter in two treatment conditions -- the experimenter wore a mask in one and no face covering in the other - in two time spans - before and after mask use becoming mandatory in stores. We find no evidence that mandatory masking has a negative effect on distance kept toward a masked person. To the contrary, masks significantly increase distancing and the effect does not differ between the two periods. However, we show that after the mandate, distances are shorter in locations where more non-essential stores, which were closed before the mandate, had reopened. We argue that the relaxations in general restrictions that coincided with the mask mandate led individuals to reduce other precautions, like keeping a safe distance.
Face Masks Increase Compliance with Physical Distancing Recommendations During the COVID-19 Pandemic, with Anna Balleyer, Nicola Cerutti, Anastasia Danilov, Jana Friedrichsen, Yiming Liu and Müge Süer, Journal of the Economic Science Association, 7 (2021) 139-158, (paper)
Abstract Governments across the world have implemented restrictive policies to slow the spread of COVID-19. Recommended face mask use has been a controversially discussed policy, among others, due to potential adverse effects on physical distancing. Using a randomized field experiment (N=300), we show that individuals kept a significantly larger distance from someone wearing a face mask than from an unmasked person during the early days of the pandemic. According to an additional survey experiment (N=456) conducted at the time, masked individuals were not perceived as being more infectious than unmasked ones, but they were believed to prefer more distancing. This result suggests that, wearing a mask served as a social signal for a preferred greater distance that was respected by others. Our findings provide strong evidence against the claim that mask use creates a false sense of security that would negatively affect physical distancing.
Gender and Compliance
Do Women Really Comply More? Experimental Evidence from a Representative Sample, with Anna Balleyer, Nicola Cerutti, Jana Friedrichsen and Müge Süer. (Preliminary) Research grant provided by the Dr. Hans Riegel-Stiftung.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries heavily rely on individual compliance with new behavior recommendations. Previous survey-based studies revealed gender differences in compliance with COVID-19 recommendations. We developed a compliance game that allows us to study compliance in a controlled environment. Our study consists of two online experiments run with separate samples that are representative of the German adult population. The main experiment (N=1600) directly measures compliance behavior. In the second experiment (N=500), participants are confronted with a vignette of the main experiment in order to study potential explanations for the behavior observed in the main experiment. We obtain three main results: First, compliance does not vary between women and men but with perceived risk and beliefs. Second, men and women equally adjust their compliance decision to new information. Third, women are expected to be more compliant than men whereas perceived social appropriateness of compliance does not differ by gender.