Key Takeaways

It turns out if you’re following COVID-19 safety precautions, your friends and family probably are too. A recent study found that people follow pandemic guidelines the most when members of their close social circle do as well.

Researchers noticed differences in COVID-19 public health messaging around the world and decided to test how those messages impacted adherence to COVID-related safety protocols.

“While the West emphasized ‘each person doing the right thing,’ pandemic strategies in countries like Singapore, China, and South Korea focused on moving the collective together as a single unit,” lead study author Bahar Tuncgenc, PhD, MSc, a research fellow at the University of Nottingham in England, tells Verywell. “To understand what would work most effectively for bringing people on board in this moment of crisis, we set out to conduct a global study.”

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Researchers evaluated how social influence impacted personal COVID‐19 guideline adherence at different closeness scales. For the study, they asked people from over 100 countries how much they, and their close social circle, approved of and followed the general COVID-19 rules in place in their area, reminding them that general advice involves social distancing.

What This Means For You

The Influence of Social Circles

The researchers found that those who followed the COVID-19 guidelines most closely were those whose friends and family also strictly followed the rules. The compliance of a close social circle had a stronger impact on an individual’s compliance than their own personal approval of the rules.

These findings are applicable to all age groups, genders, and countries. Researchers found that it was even independent of the severity of the pandemic and the strength of the COVID-19 restrictions in participants' areas.

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Based on a growing body of COVID-19 articles on social group formation, imitation, and bonding, the researchers understood that social influence from one’s close circle guides behavioral change during a crisis.

Scientists have long realized the importance of personal interactions. “Humans are fundamentally social,”Syon Bhanot, PhD,a behavioral and public economist and an assistant professor of economics at Swarthmore College in Pennslyvania, tells Verywell. “I think it’s fair to say that a great deal of human advancement as a species is down to the fact that we evolved and thrived because of communication, social interaction, and cooperation.”

Why Appealing to the Greater Good Works

No one wants to be seen as an outlier on health and safety. However, when a new directive is released, it can be challenging for individuals to oblige because not everybody will be aware of the change or may not have the resources to implement it.

Reasons community members might not follow health and safety policies can include:

This study builds on previous research showing how empathy and thinking about the collective good can help people practice social distancing.

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Bhanot agrees public health messaging should shift away from focusing on the individual. “Social influence can be fuel for positive behavior change here; you just need to get the snowball rolling down the hill to kick things off,” he says. “We need health messaging that really emphasizes what the socially acceptable behavior is, and highlights that behavior in clear ways. And, importantly, that messaging needs to send the signal that ‘other people expect you to do this.’"

The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit ourcoronavirus news page.

2 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Tunçgenç B, El Zein M, Sulik J, et al.Social influence matters: We follow pandemic guidelines most when our close circle does.Br J Psychol. doi:10.1111/bjop.12491Elcheroth G, Drury J.Collective resilience in times of crisis: Lessons from the literature for socially effective responses to the pandemic.Br J Soc Psychol. 2020;59(3):703-713.

2 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Tunçgenç B, El Zein M, Sulik J, et al.Social influence matters: We follow pandemic guidelines most when our close circle does.Br J Psychol. doi:10.1111/bjop.12491Elcheroth G, Drury J.Collective resilience in times of crisis: Lessons from the literature for socially effective responses to the pandemic.Br J Soc Psychol. 2020;59(3):703-713.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Tunçgenç B, El Zein M, Sulik J, et al.Social influence matters: We follow pandemic guidelines most when our close circle does.Br J Psychol. doi:10.1111/bjop.12491Elcheroth G, Drury J.Collective resilience in times of crisis: Lessons from the literature for socially effective responses to the pandemic.Br J Soc Psychol. 2020;59(3):703-713.

Tunçgenç B, El Zein M, Sulik J, et al.Social influence matters: We follow pandemic guidelines most when our close circle does.Br J Psychol. doi:10.1111/bjop.12491

Elcheroth G, Drury J.Collective resilience in times of crisis: Lessons from the literature for socially effective responses to the pandemic.Br J Soc Psychol. 2020;59(3):703-713.

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