No Evidence for Social Surrogacy in Fostering Intentions to Follow Social Distancing Guidelines

Bibliographic Data

ID5338892
AuthorsDonald F Sacco (0000-0001-6017-5070, University of Southern Mississippi), Mitch Brown (0000-0001-6615-6081, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville), Alicia L Macchione (0000-0002-1409-6408, University of Southern Mississippi), Stephen G Young (0000-0002-6383-5641, The Graduate Center, CUNY), Steven G Young
Year2021
Volume52
Issue4
Pages215-226
Publication date2021-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1864-9335 • E-ISSN: 2151-2590
PublisherHogrefe Publishing Group (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1027/1864-9335/a000450
OpenAlexW3179499440
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited65

We tested whether temporary social needs satisfaction through social surrogacy would ensure greater willingness to adhere to social distancing recommendations elicited by the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were randomly assigned to social exclusion or inclusion via Cyberball ( n = 534) followed by either a social surrogacy manipulation (imagine favorite TV show), or one of two control states. No restorative effects emerged following a social surrogacy prime. An exploratory analysis considering age as a moderator ( MAge = 36.89 years, SD = 10.88, range = 19-70 years) found that excluded adults (i.e., middle and older ages) reported more intentions to deviate following surrogacy experiences relative to control experiences; no effects emerged for younger adults in this analysis. We discuss the limitations of social surrogacy in fostering compliance with social distancing initiatives

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) · Developmental psychology · Distancing · Exploratory research · Moderation · Political science · Social distance · Social exclusion · Social science · Sociology · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology

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