Behavioral scientist Arie Dijkstra of the University of Groningen believes that Kuipers could have clarified that percentage a bit more in order to convince people. “There will be people who now think: 15 percent is not much. He could have emphasized even more: that is a lot for a measure.”
Behavioral scientist Kevin de Goede also wonders whether this percentage is enough. “Percentages are fairly abstract and people can hardly imagine this. I miss how the corona ticket works exactly and how it has an effect.”
Kuipers emphasized the seriousness by saying about the infections, among other things, that those who are infected must stay indoors for at least a week. “With the current figures, that means that almost half a million people have to stay at home continuously, and that will only increase in the coming period.”
Dijkstra doubts whether these kinds of texts really have an effect on the behavior of skeptics. “The motivation has really decreased with so many infections and so few admissions. If you regulate the enforcement of the rules well, it could compensate for the poor motivation.”
De Goede does not think that the new press conference will change people’s behavior quickly. “You see that people are being motivated to abide by the rules, but they are already motivated.” According to him, it is more about people unconsciously not complying with certain rules. “You also see that in other cases: for example, we are often motivated to stop smoking or start exercising, but that is not always possible.”
‘People really want to cooperate’
Kuipers and Rutte announced at the press conference that by opening up society, there is a risk of more infections. De Goede: “I fear that if that happens, it will soon be thrown at us: people do not want to cooperate. But people do want to, but sometimes subconsciously find it difficult to adhere to rules.” As an example, he mentions that people understand the distance rule, but find it difficult to adhere to it in family circles.
Dijkstra finds it difficult to predict whether people will now comply with the rules better or worse than after previous press conferences and announced measures. “You have also made a group happy. They see this as a relative liberation. We are now coming back from an almost complete lockdown, so such a relaxation could also motivate people to stick to the rules.”
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