Relationship between health behavior compliance and prospect theory-based risk preferences during a pandemic of COVID-19

The outbreak of COVID-19 forced people to change their lifestyles. In this study, a questionnaire was administered to 1000 Chinese residents to investigate the effects of risk preferences based on prospect theory from behavioral economics, trust in a trust game, other people's expectations, and personal attributes on the adherence to quarantine measures during a pandemic.

Factor analysis divided the preventive behaviors into (1) compliance for self-health care, (2) compliance for going outside, and (3) compliance for staying home alone. In Category 1, those who were more sensitive to gains than losses were more likely to have a health code, wash their hands longer, report instances of COVID-19, and disinfect often. In Category 2, they avoided volunteering at large hospitals, avoided trips to see acquaintances, avoided public walks, avoided meeting strangers, avoided going to garden centers, and wore masks when out and about. On the other hand, those more sensitive to 'losses' than 'gains' were found to work from home and socialize with non-family members in Category 3.

Based on prospect theory, it was found that whether one values gains or losses has a strong influence on preventative behavior. In particular, the fact that those who place greater value on gains than on losses tend to be more proactive in preventative behavior is expected to shed new light on future government guidance for citizens and subtle nudges or prompts to influence behavior.