Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-b6zl4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-31T07:54:07.782Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

5 - A False Sense of Security?

Face Masking and Social Distancing

from Part I - Evidence from Experiments and Behavioural Insights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  aN Invalid Date NaN

By
Nicola Cerutti
Edited by
Joan Costa-Font  and
Matteo M. Galizzi
Joan Costa-Font
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Matteo M. Galizzi
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Get access

Summary

This chapter presents a body of behavioural work that analyses the relationship between face mask use and social distancing. The majority of these studies does not find evidence of a negative effect of mask-wearing on distancing. This evidence, however, might not yet be definitive, as there seem to be exceptions. These exceptions are not sufficient to justify the delay in the implementation of masking policies and recommendation during the pandemic but raise interesting questions as to where this heterogeneity may come from. These insights could, in turn, extend to the general discussion on the almost fifty-year-old topic of risk compensation.

Keywords

social distancingmasksrisk perceptions
Type
Chapter
Information
Behavioural Economics and Policy for Pandemics
Insights from Responses to COVID-19
 , pp. 77 - 91
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, J., & Hillman, M. (2001). The risk compensation theory and bicycle helmets. Injury Prevention, 7(2), 89–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ahmed, F., Zviedrite, N., & Uzicanin, A. (2018). Effectiveness of workplace social distancing measures in reducing influenza transmission: A systematic review. BMC Public Health, 18(1), 1–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alvarez, F., Argente, D., & Lippi, F. (2021). A simple planning problem for COVID-19 lockdown, testing, and tracing. American Economic Review: Insights, 3(3), 367–382.Google Scholar
Aranguren, M. (2021). Face mask use conditionally decreases compliance with physical distancing rules against COVID-19: Gender differences in risk compensation pattern. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 5(4), 332–346. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaab072Google Scholar
Auger, K. A., Shah, S. S., Richardson, T., Hartley, D., Hall, M., Warniment, A., et al. (2020). Association between statewide school closure and COVID-19 incidence and mortality in the US. JAMA, 324(9), 859–870.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blanken, T. F., Tanis, C. C., Nauta, F. H., Dablander, F., Zijlstra, B. J., Bouten, R. R., et al. (2021). Promoting physical distancing during COVID-19: A systematic approach to compare behavioral interventions. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cartaud, A., Quesque, F., & Coello, Y. (2020). Wearing a face mask against COVID-19 results in a reduction of social distancing. PloS One, 15(12), e0243023.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chu, D. K., Akl, E. A., Duda, S., Solo, K., Yaacoub, S., Schünemann, H. J., et al. (2020). Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet, 395(10242), 1973–1987.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, A., & Einav, L. (2003). The effects of mandatory seat belt laws on driving behavior and traffic fatalities. Review of Economics and Statistics, 85(4), 828–843.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dehning, J., Zierenberg, J., Spitzner, F. P., Wibral, M., Neto, J. P., Wilczek, M., & Priesemann, V. (2020). Inferring change points in the spread of COVID-19 reveals the effectiveness of interventions. Science, 369(6500), eabb9789(2020). DOI:10.1126/science.abb9789.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eaton, L. A., & Kalichman, S. C. (2007). Risk compensation in HIV prevention: Implications for vaccines, microbicides, and other biomedical HIV prevention technologies. Current HIV/AIDS Reports, 4(4), 165–172.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evans, W. N., & Graham, J. D. (1991). Risk reduction or risk compensation? The case of mandatory safety-belt use laws. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 4(1), 61–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feng, S., Shen, C., Xia, N., Song, W., Fan, M., & Cowling, B. J. (2020). Rational use of face masks in the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 8(5), 434–436.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gatto, M., Bertuzzo, E., Mari, L., Miccoli, S., Carraro, L., Casagrandi, R., & Rinaldo, A. (2020). Spread and dynamics of the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy: Effects of emergency containment measures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(19), 10484–10491.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guenther, B., Galizzi, M. M., & Sanders, J. G. (2021). Heterogeneity in risk-taking during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from the UK lockdown. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 852.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haug, N., Geyrhofer, L., Londei, A., Dervic, E., Desvars-Larrive, A., Loreto, V., et al. (2020). Ranking the effectiveness of worldwide COVID-19 government interventions. Nature Human Behaviour, 4(12), 1303–1312.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Houston, D. J., & Richardson, L. E. (2007). Risk compensation or risk reduction? Seatbelts, state laws, and traffic fatalities. Social Science Quarterly, 88(4), 913–936.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jørgensen, F., Lindholt, M. F., Bor, A., & Petersen, M. B. (2021). Does face mask use elicit risk-compensation? Quasi-experimental evidence from Denmark during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. European Journal of Public Health, 31(6), 1259–1265.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kahane, L. H. (2021). Politicizing the mask: Political, economic and demographic factors affecting mask wearing behavior in the USA. Eastern Economic Journal, 47(2), 163–183.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kasting, M. L., Shapiro, G. K., Rosberger, Z., Kahn, J. A., & Zimet, G. D. (2016). Tempest in a teapot: A systematic review of HPV vaccination and risk compensation research. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 12(6), 1435–1450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelso, J. K., Milne, G. J., & Kelly, H. (2009). Simulation suggests that rapid activation of social distancing can arrest epidemic development due to a novel strain of influenza. BMC Public Health, 9(1), 1–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laine, C., Taichman, D. B., Guallar, E., & Mulrow, C. D. (2020). Keeping up with emerging evidence in (almost) real time. Annals of Internal Medicine, 173(2), 153–154.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liebst, L. S., Ejbye-Ernst, P., de Bruin, M., Thomas, J., & Lindegaard, M. R. (2022). No evidence that mask-wearing in public places elicits risk compensation behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1511. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05270-3Google Scholar
Luckman, A., Zeitoun, H., Isoni, A., Loomes, G., Vlaev, I., Powdthavee, N., & Read, D. (2021). Risk compensation during COVID-19: The impact of face mask usage on social distancing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 27(4), 722.Google ScholarPubMed
Mantzari, E., Rubin, G. J., & Marteau, T. M. (2020). Is risk compensation threatening public health in the COVID-19 pandemic? British Medical Journal, 370. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2913Google ScholarPubMed
Marchiori, M. (2020). Covid-19 and the social distancing paradox: Dangers and solutions. arXiv Preprint. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2005.12446CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marcus, J. L., Glidden, D. V., Mayer, K. H., Liu, A. Y., Buchbinder, S. P., Amico, K. R., et al. (2013). No evidence of sexual risk compensation in the iPrEx trial of daily oral HIV preexposure prophylaxis. PloS One, 8(12), e81997.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mitze, T., Kosfeld, R., Rode, J., & Wälde, K. (2020). Face masks considerably reduce COVID-19 cases in Germany. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(51), 32293–32301.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ngonghala, C. N., Iboi, E., Eikenberry, S., Scotch, M., MacIntyre, C. R., Bonds, M. H., & Gumel, A. B. (2020). Mathematical assessment of the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions on curtailing the 2019 novel Coronavirus. Mathematical Biosciences, 325, 108364.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Noland, R. B. (1995). Perceived risk and modal choice: Risk compensation in transportation systems. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 27(4), 503–521.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Orben, A., Tomova, L., & Blakemore, S.-J. (2020). The effects of social deprivation on adolescent development and mental health. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 4(8), 634–640.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peltzman, S. (1975). The effects of automobile safety regulation. Journal of Political Economy, 83(4), 677–725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pless, B. (2016). Risk compensation: Revisited and rebutted. Safety, 2(3), 16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Radun, I., Radun, J., Esmaeilikia, M., & Lajunen, T. (2018). Risk compensation and bicycle helmets: A false conclusion and uncritical citations. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 58, 548–555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rengasamy, S., Eimer, B., & Shaffer, R. E. (2010). Simple respiratory protection: Evaluation of the filtration performance of cloth masks and common fabric materials against 20–1000 nm size particles. Annals of Occupational Hygiene, 54(7), 789–798.Google ScholarPubMed
Seres, G., Balleyer, A. H., Cerutti, N., Danilov, A., Friedrichsen, J., Liu, Y., & Süer, M. (2021a). Face masks increase compliance with physical distancing recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of the Economic Science Association, 7(2), 139–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seres, G., Balleyer, A., Cerutti, N., Friedrichsen, J., & Süer, M. (2021b). Face mask use and physical distancing before and after mandatory masking: No evidence on risk compensation in public waiting lines. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 192, 765–781.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Suess, T., Remschmidt, C., Schink, S. B., Schweiger, B., Nitsche, A., Schroeder, K., et al. (2012). The role of facemasks and hand hygiene in the prevention of influenza transmission in households: Results from a cluster randomised trial; Berlin, Germany, 2009–2011. BMC Infectious Diseases, 12(1), 1–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thunström, L., Newbold, S. C., Finnoff, D., Ashworth, M., & Shogren, J. F. (2020). The benefits and costs of using social distancing to flatten the curve for COVID-19. Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 11(2), 179–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tull, M. T., Edmonds, K. A., Scamaldo, K. M., Richmond, J. R., Rose, J. P., & Gratz, K. L. (2020). Psychological outcomes associated with stay-at-home orders and the perceived impact of COVID-19 on daily life. Psychiatry Research, 289:113098.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van der Sande, M., Teunis, P., & Sabel, R. (2008). Professional and home-made face masks reduce exposure to respiratory infections among the general population. PloS One, 3(7), e2618.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
WHO (2020). Advice on the use of masks in the context of COVID-19: Interim guidance. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/332293Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×