Cross-Theoretical Compliance: An Integrative Compliance Analysis of COVID-19 Mitigation Responses in Israel. Issue 4 (April 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: de Bruijn, Anne Leonore; Feldman, Yuval; Reinders Folmer, Christopher P.; Kuiper, Malouke E.; Brownlee, Megan; Kooistra, Emmeke; Olthuis, Elke; Fine, Adam; van Rooij, Benjamin
• Is Part Of: Administration & society. Volume 55:Issue 4(2023)
• Page Start: 635
• Page End: 670
• Publication Date: 2023-04
• Subjects: compliance -- compliance theory -- COVID-19 -- mitigation measures -- social distancing -- lockdown -- stay-at-home measures -- rational choice theory -- deterrence -- punishment -- legitimacy -- procedural justice -- obligation to obey the law -- social norms -- capacity to comply -- impulsivity -- strain theory -- negative emotions -- opportunity to violate -- trust in science -- public health -- Israel; Public administration -- Periodicals; 351
• DOI: 10.1177/00953997221140899
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0095-3997

Abstract

To understand the question why people obey or break rules, different approaches have focused on different theories and subsets of variables. The present research develops a cross-theoretical approach that integrates these perspectives. We apply this in a survey of compliance with COVID-19 pandemic mitigation rules in Israel. The data reveal that compliance in this setting was shaped by a combination of variables originating from legitimacy, capacity, and opportunity theories (but not rational choice or social theories). This demonstrates the importance of moving beyond narrow theoretical perspectives of compliance, to a cross-theoretical understanding—in which different theoretical approaches are systematically integrated.