ArticleAnnals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine2021
Descriptive Norms and Prototypes Predict COVID-19 Prevention Cognitions and Behaviors in the United States: Applying the Prototype Willingness Model to Pandemic Mitigation.
Article in Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Injunctive social norms and perceived message tailoring are associated with health information seeking.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2024Trial
- Social-contextual factors interact with masculinity to influence college men's HPV vaccination intentions: The role of descriptive norms, prototypes, and physician gender.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2022Trial
- Development and Validation of a Social Influence Scale for Antiviral Therapy Behavior of Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2026Article
- Healthcare-seeking intentions of middle-aged and elderly individuals with critical diseases: an expanded TPB model in the post-pandemic era.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Effect of social influence on antiviral therapy behavior among chronic hepatitis B patients with different disease knowledge levels.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Infection preventive behaviors and its association with perceived threat and perceived social factors during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea: 2020 community health survey.BMC public health · 2022Article
- The relationship between COVID-19-related prevention cognition and healthy lifestyle behaviors among university students: Mediated by e-health literacy and self-efficacy.Journal of affective disorders · 2022Article
- Social cognition theories and behavior change in COVID-19: A conceptual review.Behaviour research and therapy · 2022Review
- Follow or not? Descriptive norms and public health compliance: Mediating role of risk perception and moderating effect of behavioral visibility.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundEarly in the COVID-19 pandemic, prevention behavior adoption occurred in a rapidly changing context. In contrast to expectancy-value theories, the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) is well-suited for investigating novel and socially informed behaviors. PURPOSE: We explored whether PWM social cognitions predicted coronavirus prevention behaviors.
methodA representative sample of United States adults (N = 738; Mage = 46.8; 51.8% women; 78% white; April 2020) who had not had COVID-19 reported PWM predictor variables (perceived vulnerability, prevention descriptive norms, prototypes engaging in prevention behavior, and prevention behavioral intentions). Two weeks later, participants reported their prevention behaviors (handwashing, mask-wearing, social distancing, etc.) and future public health behavioral willingness (contact tracing, temperature checks, etc.).
resultsControlling for putative demographic, past behavior, and coronavirus-contextual (e.g., local infection rates) covariates, mediation models indicated that higher norms and favorable prototypes were associated with greater prevention behavioral intentions, which in turn predicted increased prevention behavior, F(18, 705) = 92.20, p < .001, R2 = .70. Higher norms and favorable prototypes associated both directly and indirectly (through greater prevention behavioral intention) with greater willingness to engage in emerging public health behaviors, F(15, 715) = 21.49, p < .001, R2 = .31.
conclusionsGreater descriptive norms and favorable prototypes for prevention behavior predicted: (a) future prevention behaviors through increases in behavioral intentions and (b) willingness to participate in emerging public health behaviors. These results held across demographic groups, political affiliation, and severity of regional outbreaks. Public health efforts to curb pandemics should highlight normative prevention participation and enhance positive prototypes.
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