Measuring associations among British national identification, group norms and social distancing behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic: Testing a Social Identity Model of Behavioural Associations (SIMBA).

ABSTRACT: Social identification and group norms have been identified as key social psychological determinants of engagement in protective public health behaviours, such as social distancing, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing upon both social identity and balanced identity theories, the research tests the utility of a Social Identity Model of Behavioural Associations (SIMBA)-which proposes reciprocal, interactive associations among self-group, group-behaviour and self-behaviour concepts-for the measurement of British national identification, group norms and social distancing behaviour at two different points during the pandemic. An online study asked participants (Time 1 N = 151, Time 2 N = 136) to complete implicit and explicit (i.e. self-report) measures both during and post-lockdown

SUBMITTER: Hughes EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11927383 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature