Table 1.

Nineteen claims about social and behavioural science during the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 Claim wording	Revised claim wording	Behavioural theme
(1) A shared sense of identity or purpose can be encouraged by addressing the public in collective terms and by urging ‘us’ to act for the common good	There is a small positive association between collective identity and behaviour for the common good, but the relationship depends on the level of identity activated (for example, nation versus European Union)	Sense of identity
(2) Identifying trusted sources (for example, local, religious or community leaders) that are credible to different audiences to share public health messages can be effective	Identifying trusted sources (for example, local, religious, political or community leaders) that are credible to different audiences to share public health messages can be effective in increasing intentions to engage in recommended health behaviours	Trust and leadership
(3) Leaders and the media might try to promote cooperative behaviour by emphasizing that cooperating is the right thing to do and that other people are already cooperating	Emphasizing cooperation and highlighting the cooperative behaviour of other people can encourage people to adhere to public health recommendations, although effects may be small	Trust and leadership
(4) Norms of prosocial behaviour are more effective when coupled with the expectation of social approval and modelled by in-group members who are central in social networks	Surveys have shown that descriptive norms, especially when enacted by close reference groups, are associated with greater compliance with public health recommendations and self-reported prosocial behaviours	Sense of identity
(5) Leaders and members of the media should highlight bipartisan support for COVID-related measures, when they exist, as such endorsements in other contexts have reduced polarization and led to less-biased reasoning	Where polarization regarding public health behaviours exists, endorsement from bipartisan coalitions can be effective in reducing polarization and increasing compliance	Messaging and language
(6) There is a need for more targeted public health information within marginalized communities and for partnerships between public health authorities and trusted organizations that are internal to these communities	Marginalized communities have very different risks and health outcomes and may receive different information through different channels, suggesting the potential benefit of targeted communication and strategies	Messaging and language
(7) Messages that (i) emphasize benefits to the recipient, (ii) focus on protecting others, (iii) align with the moral values of recipients, (iv) appeal to social consensus or scientific norms, and/or (v) highlight the prospect of social group approval tend to be persuasive	Messages may be more effective when they align closely with the moral values of recipients, appeal to social consensus or scientific norms, and highlight group approval	Messaging and language
(8) Given the importance of slowing infections, it may be helpful to make people aware that they benefit from others’ access to preventative measures	There is suggestive, albeit little, empirical evidence that it can help to make people aware that they benefit from others’ access to preventative measures	Sense of identity
(9) Preparing people for misinformation and ensuring they have accurate information and counterarguments against false information before they encounter conspiracy theories, fake news or other forms of misinformation can help to inoculate them against false information	Preparing people for misinformation before they encounter conspiracy theories, fake news or other forms of misinformation — for example, by ensuring that they have accurate information and counterarguments against false information, or by prompting them to consider accuracy — can help to reduce belief in, and/or sharing of, false information for a limited time	Social cohesion and misinformation
(10) Use of the term ‘social distancing’ might imply that one needs to cut off meaningful interactions. A preferable term is ‘physical distancing’, because it allows for the fact that social connection is possible even when people are physically separated	Although ‘physical distancing’ is a more accurate term than ‘social distancing’ and may encourage more social connection, there is no evidence on whether it is more effective in encouraging public health behaviours	Messaging and language
(11) As negative emotions increase, people may rely on negative information about COVID-19 more than other information to make decisions. In the case of strong emotional reactions, people may also ignore important numeric information such as probabilities and the scope of a problem	An increase in negative emotions related to the pandemic may influence behaviour and decision-making and lead people to ignore important information, such as probabilities of negative outcomes or actual risk level	Messaging and language
(12) Cultures accustomed to prioritizing freedom over security may also have more difficulty coordinating in the face of a pandemic	Strong correlations indicate that cultures accustomed to prioritizing freedom over security may also have more difficulty coordinating in the face of a pandemic	Social cohesion and misinformation
(13) Fake news, conspiracy theories and misinformation will have a negative effect on vaccine hesitancy	Evidence has shown that fake news, conspiracy theories and misinformation were negatively associated with vaccination intentions, but the effect on actual vaccination behaviour has not been shown	Social cohesion and misinformation
(14) Unmitigated political polarization will disrupt or create other negative effects on attempts to minimize or end the pandemic	Evidence has shown that divergent partisan identities lead to significantly different opinions and reported behaviours in response to the pandemic, undermining coordination efforts to minimize or end the pandemic	Social cohesion and misinformation
(15) Active use of online connections can reduce some negative mental and other health effects created by isolation policies	Active social connections online can buffer against negative mental health effects, although mitigating effects may be small	Sense of identity

Claims in the left column show the original wording from Van Bavel et al.³. The text in the right column shows updated wording after assessing the evidence in 2022. Note that claim 7 has five components, making a total of 19 for the table.