Reputation promotes COVID-19 infection prevention behaviours especially among unvaccinated people and those who perceived a lower risk

Abstract

The global COVID-19 outbreak caused severe physical and economic damage. This study focused on the interpersonal factors among Japanese people and attempted to elucidate why the impact in Japan was milder than that in other countries. Previous studies have demonstrated that the perceived risk of COVID-19 promoted infection prevention behaviours. However, even people who perceived a low risk engaged in infection prevention behaviours in Japan. Therefore, we investigated whether reputation promoted infection prevention behaviours in Japan, especially among those with a lower risk perception. We conducted four studies and analysed the data for 2214 participants (176, 1235, 518 and 285 participants in each study). Participants had a greater intention to engage in infection prevention behaviours as they estimated greater reputational damage if they neglected to perform these behaviours. In addition, reputation more strongly promoted infection prevention behaviours among unvaccinated people (Studies 1a–1c) and those who perceived a lower risk of COVID-19 (Study 2). That is, even those who perceived a lower risk engaged in infection prevention behaviours to avoid lowering their reputation. We further discuss the socio-ecological characteristics that may underlie these results, such as tighter norms and lower residential mobility.