Integrating Operant and Cognitive Behavioral Economics to Inform Infectious Disease Response: Prevention, Testing, and Vaccination in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT: The role of human behavior to thwart transmission of infectious diseases like COVID-19 is evident. Yet, many areas of psychological and behavioral science are limited in the ability to mobilize to address exponential spread or provide easily translatable findings for policymakers. Here we describe how integrating methods from operant and cognitive approaches to behavioral economics can provide robust policy relevant data. Adapting well validated methods from behavioral economic discounting and demand frameworks, we evaluate in four crowdsourced samples (total N = 1,366) behavioral mechanisms underlying engagement in preventive health behaviors. We find that people are more likely to social distance when specified activities are framed as high risk, that describing delay until testing (rath

SUBMITTER: Strickland JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7852253 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature