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Psychologist Daniel David spoke to Digi24 about the danger of a vaccination communication campaign that may have opposite effects, namely the expulsion of even more people that the authorities want to convince them to get vaccinated. He says that communication sources should be diversified and adapted to the profile of those to whom they are addressed.
Daniel David claims that the large proportion of Romanians who are undecided about vaccination (40%, according to surveys) can be reduced by an effective communication campaign, targeting social categories.
“It was good if the vaccination preparation campaign started a long time ago, it started differently. We have to see that 40% (undecided – no) that it means as a profile, as groups. I needed a different campaign for each group. (. ..) You have to see the profile of those people. If you have identified the profile of those populations – it is not a unique profile, they are different groups – and then you take out the vectors that come from those groups, which they appreciate – for example, they can do not appreciate the rational speech of a doctor, but may react to an emotional speech of a priest or a influence, if they are part of younger groups. That is what you have to do if you want to convince them. If you want to stand out and present them with advantages, disadvantages, of course, it sounds good in theory, but you will only convince those who are already convinced. But that is not the psychological mechanism. This is not how the human mind works, “said Daniel David.
Young people: the least willing to get vaccinated
One of the surveys on the degree of acceptance of vaccination shows that young people are among those who most reject it. Daniel David says that the communication strategy can be adapted to your profile.
“It just came to my knowledge then. It remains to be seen how young. I would be interested to see the level of education, where they come from – rural / urban – because depending on that you can find out what influences can block the desire to get vaccinated. For example ( …), young people with an average educational level, who come from rural areas, but also from urban areas, the average educational level makes them more prone to conspiracy theories, which are not only unaware of the virus, but also propose alternative theories or oppose the vaccine.
And then, if that’s the population, you come with another area of influence. It makes no sense to go tell them here are the risks and benefits of the vaccine, because they will listen to you and say that you are the factor that wants to influence people to get a vaccine that hurts them, “said the psychologist.
Who convinces the grandparents
As for the elderly, Daniel David shows that they are likely to react to another type of stimulus, appropriate to their category.
“Some older people may not react well to pressure from grandchildren and children, but they can react well to the action of the village priest, to the action of other older people whom they refer to as a social and cultural model and promote them in order to to convince these populations. There is no single recipe, but the recipe must be differentiated according to the psychocultural profile of the populations that oppose vaccination, “Daniel David also said.
Rejection mechanisms
The psychologist detailed why Romanians no longer seem to respond to messages and calls from the authorities.
“When you are systematically exposed to an anxious stimulus, if the exposure is long-lasting, the response is gradually reduced. It’s a common mechanism in psychology. What you need to do to keep the level of concern, not fear, high in the population: change the source of information. If the source is the entire government and the entire national committee, then the people no longer react. But if they tried to transmit such information on various channels, Man of influence, church, other areas, then he would have managed to better control social behavior. So people have become numb and we see this lack of fear, ”said Daniel David.
The psychologist explained what communication errors should be avoided.
“Let’s not go with the single prescription, the authorities and doctors who tell us advantages, disadvantages, and force the population that does not respond to this model. On the contrary, if they feel this pressure, they will react with the opposite behavior and it will become general ”.
Also, dealing with irony is not a good approach, because it achieves the opposite effect.
“It is not a good tone, you simply confront others who have doubts or are opposed, and there is the phenomenon that in psychology we call psychological reactance: people even oppose behaviors that could benefit them. “, Daniel David also showed.
Editor: Bogdan Pacurar
