Event producers who want to encourage mask-wearing at conferences and trade shows should consider what won't work.
Behavioral scientists at the University of London analyzed 65 studies of "failed interventions"—failed attempts to influence behavior—conducted over the past decade.
The researchers found:
- 40% of failed interventions relied on attempted "social norming"—on encouragements to adopt a behavior simply because it's "expected"
- 24% of failed interventions relied on messaging that was delivered on printed flyers and texts
- 15% of failed interventions relied on simple "defaults"—opt-in or opt-out
- 12% of failed interventions relied on product labelling
The findings suggest incentives may be required to persuade attendees to wear masks.
Gamifying mask-wearing—randomly rewarding attendees for wearing their masks—might do the trick.
And sponsors would love to underwrite it.
