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PreprintCited by 19Communication and COVID-19 ImpactCOVID-19 Prevention and ImpactCOVID-19 epidemiological studies

Evaluating expectations from social and behavioral science about COVID-19 and lessons for the next pandemic

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Ruggeri, Kai, Stock, Friederike, Haslam, S. Alexander, Capraro, Valerio, Boggio, Paulo, Ellemers, Naomi, Cichocka, Aleksandra, Douglas, Karen +70 more·2022
DOI 10.31234/osf.io/58udn
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Abstract

Social and behavioral science research proliferated during the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting the substantial increase in influence of behavioral science in public health and public policy more broadly. This review presents a comprehensive assessment of 742 scientific articles on human behavior during COVID-19. Two independent teams evaluated 19 substantive policy recommendations (“claims”) on potentially critical aspects of behaviors during the pandemic drawn from the most widely cited behavioral science papers on COVID-19. Teams were made up of original authors and an independent team, all of whom were blinded to other team member reviews throughout. Both teams found evidence in support of 16 of the claims; for two claims, teams found only null evidence; and for no claims did the teams find evidence of effects in the opposite direction. One claim had no evidence available to assess. Seemingly due to the risks of the pandemic, most studies were limited to surveys, highlighting a need for more investment in field research and behavioral validation studies. The strongest findings indicate interventions that combat misinformation and polarization, and to utilize effective forms of messaging that engage trusted leaders and emphasize positive social norms.

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  • The social sciences provided early guidance on responses to the COVID-19 pandemic to inform policy decisions.

    “In recent years, the social sciences provided early guidance on responses to the COVID-19 pandemic to inform policy decisions (Ruggeri et al. 2022, Van Bavel et al. 2020).”

    From Social Media and Morality. (2024) · cites this paper as Ruggeri et al. 2022

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Authors
Ruggeri, K., Stock, F., Haslam, S. A., Capraro, V., Boggio, P., Ellemers, N., Cichocka, A., Douglas, K., Rand, D. G., Cikara, M., Finkel, E., Linden, S. V. D., Druckman, J., Wohl, M. J. A., Petty, R., Tucker, J. A., Peters, E., Shariff, A., Gelfand, M., Packer, D., van Lange, P., Pennycook, G., Baicker, K., Crum, A., Weeden, K. A., Napper, L. E., Tabri, N., zaki, J., Skitka, L., Kitayama, S., mobbs, D., Sunstein, C. R., Galizzi, M. M., Milkman, K., Petrović, M., Todsen, A. L., Hajian, A., Verra, S., Buehler, V., Friedemann, M., Hecht, M., Mobarak, R., Jetten, J., Karakasheva, R., Tünte, M. R., Yeung, S. K., Rosenbaum, R. S., Yamada, Y., Hudson, S.-K. T. J., Soboleva, I., Macchia, L., Dimant, E., Geiger, S. J., Buabang, E. K., Landman, M., Lep, Z., Jarke, H., Wingen, T., Berkessel, J., Mareva, S., McGill, L., Papa, F., Većkalov, B., Afif, Z., Tavera, F., Andrews, J. L., Bursalıoğlu, A., Zupan, Z., Wagner, L., Navajas, J., Vranka, M. A., Kasdan, D., Novak, L., Hudson, K., Teas, P., Rachev, N. R., Van Bavel, J. J., & Willer, R.
Affiliations
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
  • New York University (US)
  • KU Leuven (BE)
ORCID
Publisher
Center for Open Science
Published
2022-10-10
DOI
10.31234/osf.io/58udn
OpenAlex
W4304165929
Cited by
19
References
10
Citations by year
2025: 1 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 1
Type
posted content
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Communication and COVID-19 Impact
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › COVID-19 Prevention and Impact
  • Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Modeling and Simulation › COVID-19 epidemiological studies
Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, human behavior, behavioral science, public health policy, pandemic preparedness, misinformation, political polarization, health messaging, social norms, behavioral validation, fieldwork

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