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

Authors

Donald F. Sacco, University of Southern MississippiFollow
Mitch Brown, University of ArkansasFollow
Alicia L. Macchione, University of Southern MississippiFollow
Steven G. Young, Baruch CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-1-2021

School

Psychology

Abstract

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 (M_Age = 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.

Publication Title

Social Psychology

Volume

52

Issue

4

First Page

215

Last Page

226

Recommended Citation

Sacco, D., Brown, M., Macchione, A., Young, S. (2021). No Evidence for Social Surrogacy in Fostering Intentions to Follow Social Distancing Guidelines. Social Psychology, 52(4), 215-226.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/19238