Altering Intention to Mudik during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Salient Cue and Simple Reminder Nudge

Abstract

Mudik is a unique exodus in Indonesia where people travel to hometown during Eid festive season. It posed a challenge for the government to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Several reports have identified that people still stick with their plan to Mudik amidst the latest Mudik ban. Thus, a scientific nudge campaign is pivotal to influence Mudik behaviour. The present study designed and tested five visual campaigns to identify key elements which can reduce Mudik intention. A pre-post field experiment used six between-subject groups designed on Qualtrics collected 767 responses measuring intention to Mudik. We asked participants respective Mudik ban institution in anticipating the latest nation-wide Mudik ban. Mother visual and a lethal virus for elderly reminder are of which sufficient reducing Mudik intention. The treatment effect holds in certain people conditions. The study yielded an initially worked nudge campaign to support government Mudik ban policy.