Don't stand so close to me: Perceptions of others’ compliance with COVID-19 recommendations and support for strict policy measures in Norway

Abstract

Many democratically elected governments in states that are otherwise considered liberal have imposed strict policy measures, including policies allowing for coercion and/or punishment of transgressors to prevent the transmission of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Previous studies have indicated that trust in government institutions engenders a positive public response during a crisis and that the implementation of strict policy measures in a crisis—measures otherwise considered authoritarian—can increase trust in government institutions, even in liberal democratic states. However, few studies have focused on the relationship between perceived compliance with government-issued recommendations and individual preferences with regard to authoritarian governmental crisis management. The objective of this study was to estimate the association between perceived compliance with government recommendations among citizens and support for strict policy measures in a pandemic setting. We draw on unique data from a cross-sectional survey conducted in the wake of the first COVID-19 wave in Norway (n = 935). Logistic regression analyses indicate a strong negative association between support for strict policy measures and the belief that others are following the government-issued recommendations. Our results suggest that participants would consider strict policy measures less essential if they believed that other citizens were complying with the rules.