Experimental Design Details
The study involves a five-armed, parallel-design, individually randomized trial—in the form of a split ballot survey experiment. The experiment is carried out among a non-probability sample of US residents. Participants are recruited via Prolific. All survey respondents are presented with information about the COVID-19 situation. After an introductory text (identical across experimental conditions), respondents are exposed to one of five informational cues.
One group (control group) receive the following text: “We know that COVID-19 is spreading rapidly. It is true that many people survive the illness. But people with COVID-19 can start spreading the virus days before they realize they have it.”
The remaining respondents receive the same text, but are additionally exposed to one of the following four information cues:
Treatment 1: “Remember, your personal health is at stake. Even young, healthy adults who are exposed to the virus may get seriously ill and require intensive hospital treatment.”
Treatment 2: “Remember, you play a critical role in helping to stop the spread of the virus. Any of us could accidently pass the virus on to a close friend or family member who is not in good health.”
Treatment 3: “Remember, you play a critical role in helping to stop the spread of the virus. Unless we all work together, the virus may spread to the people who are most likely to die from it.”
Treatment 4: “Remember, you play a critical role in helping to stop the spread of the virus. Unless we all work together, the virus may overwhelm our hospitals and they won’t be able to give everyone the treatment they need.”