Evaluating prosocial COVID-19 messaging frames: Evidence from a field study on Facebook

• DOI: 10.1017/s1930297500008226
• Publication Date: 2023-01-03T02:01:46Z
• Authors: Sachin Banker; Joowon Park
• Keywords: Prosocial Behavior; Pandemic; Social distance

Abstract The rapid spread of COVID-19 has emphasized the need for effective health communications to coordinate individual behavior and mitigate disease transmission. Facing a pandemic, individuals may be driven adopt public recommendations based on both self-interested desires protect oneself prosocial others. Although messages can framed around either, existing research from social sciences offered mixed evidence regarding their relative efficacy. Informing this dialogue, in current study we report findings field experiment (N = 25,580) conducted March 21–22 Facebook during critical initial weeks outbreak United States. We observed that ad using distant frame (“protect your community”) were fact significantly less than those self-focused yourself”) eliciting clickthroughs official CDC recommendations. However, with close loved ones”) equally as frame. These catalog differential efficacy messaging strategies early stages coronavirus pandemic.