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Sep 22, 2021;11 (10):

Effects of Individual Discount Rate and Uncertainty Perception on Compliance with Containment Measures during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Cinzia Calluso, Eleonora Grande, Alessia Erario, Annalisa Tosoni, Giorgia Committeri
Author Information
  1. Cinzia Calluso: Department of Business and Management, LUISS Guido Carli University, Viale Romania 32, 00197 Roma, Italy. ORCID
  2. Eleonora Grande: Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Gabriele d'Annunzio University, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013 Chieti Scalo, Italy.
  3. Alessia Erario: Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Gabriele d'Annunzio University, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013 Chieti Scalo, Italy.
  4. Annalisa Tosoni: Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Gabriele d'Annunzio University, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013 Chieti Scalo, Italy.
  5. Giorgia Committeri: Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Gabriele d'Annunzio University, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013 Chieti Scalo, Italy.
PMID: 34679321 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11101256

Abstract

Anti-contagion measures restricting individual freedom, such as social distancing and wearing a mask, are crucial to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Decision-making patterns and attitudes about uncertainty can highly influence the adherence to these restrictive measures. Here we investigated the relationship between risky behavior and individual preferences for immediate vs. delayed reward, as indexed by temporal discounting (TD), as well as the association between these measures and confidence in the future, perceived risk and confidence in the containment measures. These measures were collected through an online survey administered on 353 participants at the end of the more restrictive phase of the first Italian lockdown. The results showed an unexpected inverse relationship between the individual pattern of choice preferences and risky behavior, with an overall greater adherence to containment measures in more discounter participants. These findings were interpreted in terms of a reframing process in which behaviors aimed at protecting oneself from contagion turn into immediate gains rather than losses. Interestingly, an excessive confidence in a better future was correlated with a higher tendency to assume risky behavior, thereby highlighting the downside of an overly and blindly optimistic view.

Keywords

COVID-19 pandemic containment measures individual differences intertemporal choice risk perception risky behavior temporal discounting

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