RAPID: A Multi-Level Analysis of Social and Behavioral Responses to COVID-19

新冠肺炎疫情对美国和整个世界都是一个迅速展开的重要挑战，有可能产生重大的社会和经济影响。实施了非药物干预措施，作为减缓疾病传播的更广泛努力的一部分。美国公民被指示增加洗手等卫生措施，并通过限制与其他人的接触来增加社交距离，特别是在人群众多的情况下。在一些州，学校和企业的关闭，以及其他形式的强制限制，也开始影响到人们和家庭。了解公众对这一持续爆发的反应至关重要，社会心理学和决策科学的观点可能有助于政府和非政府有效应对进一步危机的努力的有效性。该项目考察了疫情期间行为的预测因素(例如，参与社交疏远)、情绪和应对反应(例如，寻求社会支持)以及社会态度的变化(例如，对公共政策的信任)。这项研究验证了个人福利和集体/国家福利都可以促进适当的健康行为的观点。通过在2020年期间跟踪调查人群，这项研究提供了公众对疫情反应的定期快照，并测试了重要的科学问题，这些问题将为未来的公共卫生和灾难应对干预提供信息。这一快速项目的中心是对3000名美国居民的代表性样本进行的四波纵向调查。研究参与者第一次联系是在2020年3月，然后大约每12周在三个时间点再次联系。这项研究旨在提供全年公众对疫情不断变化的反应的指数。威胁被概念化为对自身的威胁或对国家福利的威胁。同样，对这些威胁的反应被框定为需要个人负责或需要国家回应。因为这项研究随着时间的推移对相同的参与者进行了评估，所以这项研究解决了人们环境的变化如何预测心理和行为反应的变化。一个问题是，对更广泛的社会影响的担忧的变化是否预示着对公共卫生建议和任务的遵守与对个人健康影响的担忧不同。这项研究还确定了参与者的地理位置；随着时间的推移，调查响应将与公开可用的数据相结合，以检查当地因素如何影响心理反应。这将有助于解决在社区复原力投资较大的州和社区(例如，公共卫生资金)的人是否比在社区复原力投资较低的州和社区的人对疫情表现出更好的应对反应。研究设计包括第2波和第3波的交流干预，以测试社会规范信息和分担(相对于个人)责任对人们遵守公共卫生指导方针和任务的意愿的作用。使用这些纵向的、地理的和实验的方法，这项研究将检验关于四个广泛主题的假设：个人和社会责任、规范和社会影响、应对和情绪调节，以及疫情爆发对社会凝聚力和冲突的影响。新的知识将为未来的公共卫生和政策干预提供信息。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The COVID-19 outbreak represents a rapidly unfolding and important challenge to the United States and to the world at large with the potential for significant social and economic impact. Non-pharmaceutical interventions were implemented as part of a broader effort to slow the spread of the disease. U.S. citizens were instructed to increase hygiene efforts such as hand-washing and to increase social distancing by limiting contact with other people, especially in large crowds. In some states, school and business closures, as well as other forms of mandated restrictions, also began impacting people and families. Understanding the public’s response to this ongoing outbreak is vital, and social psychological and decision-science perspectives may uniquely contribute to the effectiveness of governmental and non-governmental efforts to respond effectively to further crises. This project examines predictors of behavior during the outbreak (for example, engaging in social distancing), emotional and coping responses (for example, seeking social support), and changes in social attitudes (for example, trust in public policies). The research tests the idea that both personal welfare and collective/national welfare can facilitate appropriate health behaviors. By following people over time during 2020, the study provides periodic snapshots of public responses to the outbreak as well as testing important scientific questions that will inform future public health and disaster-response interventions.This RAPID project is centered on a four-wave longitudinal survey of a representative sample of 3,000 U.S. residents. Study participants are first contacted in March, 2020, and then again at three later time-points roughly every 12 weeks. The research is designed to provide an index of the evolving public response to the outbreak throughout the year. Threats are conceptualized as either threats to the self or threats to the national welfare. Similarly, reactions to those threats are framed as requiring personal responsibility or requiring a national response. Because the study assesses the same participants over time, the research addresses how changes in people’s circumstances predict changes in psychological and behavioral responses. One question is whether changes in concerns regarding the broader social impact predict adherence to public health advice and mandates differently than concerns about personal health impacts. The study also identifies participants’ geographic location; over time, survey responses will be integrated with publicly available data to examine how local factors influence psychological responses. This will help address whether people in states and communities with greater investment in community resilience (e.g., public health funding) show better coping responses to the outbreak than in states and communities with lower investments in community resilience. The study design incorporates communication interventions at waves 2 and 3 to test the role of social norm information and shared (versus individual) responsibility on people’s willingness to follow public health guidelines and mandates. Using these longitudinal, geographic, and experimental methods, the research will test hypotheses on four broad topics: personal and social responsibility, norms and social influence, coping and emotion regulation, and impacts of the outbreak on social cohesion and conflict. The new knowledge will inform future public health and policy interventions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.