ArticleJournal of contextual behavioral science2020
Choosing not to follow rules that will reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Article in Journal of contextual behavioral science, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Effect of Coherence on Instruction Following from News Outlets.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Role of Dispositional Rule-Following and Metaphors About Psychological Flexibility on Operant Schedule Control.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Exploring the relationships between rule-governed behavior and adherence to guidelines aiming to reduce the spread of COVID-19.Journal of contextual behavioral science · 2022Article
- Countercontrol: A Relational Frame Theory (RFT) Account and Revival of a 70-Year-Old Skinnerian Term.Perspectives on behavior science · 2022Article
- Rule-Governed Behavior and Climate Change: Why Climate Warnings Fail to Motivate Sufficient Action.Behavior and social issues · 2022Article
- Introduction to the special issue on COVID-19.Journal of contextual behavioral science · 2021Article
- A Proposed Functional Analysis of Transmission Prevention Behaviors for a Respiratory Virus (SARS-CoV-2).Behavior and social issues · 2021Article
- Ensuring Effective Public Health Communication: Insights and Modeling Efforts From Theories of Behavioral Economics, Heuristics, and Behavioral Analysis for Decision Making Under Risk.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many authorities have implemented public health measures that place restrictions on individuals. Understanding how individuals respond to these new rules, particularly whether they are likely to follow or break them, is extremely important. Relational frame theory offers unique insights into rule-governed behavior, allowing researchers to develop functional-analytic interpretations of why a listener may understand a rule, have the required response established in their behavioral repertoire, and still choose not to follow the rule. Drawing from research on rule-following in accordance with relational frame theory and cognitive neuroscience, social psychology, and health literature, this paper presents reasons why a rule may be understood but not followed, identifying important considerations for implementing public health measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Specifically, rule-givers should attend to their credibility, authority and ability to mediate consequences, rule plausibility, establishing adequate motivative augmental control, whether the behavior specified in the rule opposes habits, and whether the message incites counterpliance.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.