Psychologist Says Tailored Messaging Is Key For Effective Public Health Policy

WILDWOOD, NJ – JULY 03: A woman wearing a face mask walks past a Boardwalk store with signs warning patrons of mask requirements on July 3, 2020 in Wildwood, New Jersey. New Jersey beaches have reopened for the July 4th holiday as some coronavirus restrictions have been lifted, along with casinos, amusement rides and water … Continued

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For public health leaders, understanding different communication styles and preferences — and how people respond to them — is key to reducing the spread of the coronavirus.

Humans often don’t behave logically. Their decisions don’t always follow the evidence.

Those are among the ideas that Gaurav Suri considers in his work studying decision-making and motivation. He’s an experimental psychologist and a computational neuroscientist at San Francisco State University.