Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, guests were required to wear face masks on entering and while moving inside hospitality venues. To promote this behaviour, self-persuasion and salience techniques were used in this experiment - with notable success. Following the announced relaxation of face mask requirements, there was a decrease in face mask usage, although this was significantly less in hospitality venues that saw interventions than in venues that did not experience interventions.

Why this experiment was conducted: face mask compliance could be improved with some encouragement
After being closed for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, operators of hospitality venues were allowed to fully reopen their businesses in early June 2021, subject to observance of a number of basic measures. For example, everyone had to maintain a distance of 1.5 metres and wear a face mask on entering and while moving inside establishments. That presented a challenge, since after living with restrictions for over a year, we increasingly yearned to return to a sense of normalcy. How was everyone in the hospitality industry going to comply with the pandemic-related measures? This study focused specifically on the face mask mandate. The concrete target behaviour was: guests wear a face mask on entering and while moving inside hospitality establishments.

Types of intervention: self-persuasion and salience
For the two interventions, the psychological principles of 'self-persuasion' and 'salience' were moulded into a concept that would appeal to hospitality establishments:
• Self-persuasion was employed through the use of a sign bearing the statement: 'Ik draag een mondkapje omdat...' (I wear a face mask because...) plus 5 reasons. Through stickers, guests were invited to choose their own argument. A course of action was also added: '#Zetmop' (Put it on).
• Salience featured prominently on beer mats and through the interactive 'Kapje op, kapje af' (Mask on, mask of) playing cards scattered on the tables. This ensured that the reminder to wear a face mask was given at just the right time, as people were getting up from the table. The game was an interactive and positive reminder and stimulus. To avoid resistance, a personable approach was taken, for example by subtly addressing them in a friendly manner: "Dear guest". Guests were given specific instructions: 'opstaan = opdoen' (get up = put on) and 'binnen = mondkapje op' (when inside = wear face mask). In this way, the requested behaviour required less mental effort.

Method used: baseline and impact measurements with control group
The experiment was conducted in June 2021, just as the requirement to wear face masks in hospitality venues was about to be lifted. Observers, unobtrusively blending in, counted the number of times guests put on their face masks when moving around the establishment. There were two experimental conditions and a control condition, with baseline and impact measurements being performed. A total of six hospitality establishments took part in the tests in real-life settings.

Result obtained: a significant reduction in face mask usage was prevented
Following the announcement of the easing of pandemic-related rules, it was anticipated that face mask usage in the hospitality industry would significantly decrease. The interventions that were made mitigated the extent of that decrease. A significant effect was noted even in the weekend of the announcement that the face mask mandate was to be lifted. In the establishment where the self persuasion technique was applied, the decrease in face mask usage was 16 percentage points lower than the baseline measurement. In the control condition (without intervention), the decrease was 22.9 percentage points. The salience technique using beer mats and the interactive game also significantly mitigated the anticipated decrease. Face mask usage even increased slightly, by 3.8 percentage points. In the control condition, face mask usage decreased by 14.6 percentage points. It was also found that guests were significantly more likely to wear face masks in establishments where that was common practice amongst staff (62% versus 36%). This can be attributed to the strength of the social norm.

Impact: insights also applied in other sectors
In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, adherence to guidelines and rules gradually waned, while resistance to them grew. The hospitality sector in particular proved to be a challenging setting for the face mask mandate in indoor spaces. The tests conducted in real-life settings contributed to insights on how to inspire compliance with face mask guidelines. As the requirement to wear face masks in hospitality settings was lifted, the lessons learned were later utilised in sectors where the requirement was in place for a longer period, such as public transport.

Source: https://www.binnl.nl/home+-+en/knowledge/publications/bin+nl+publications/HandlerDownloadFiles.ashx?idnv=2719979