Aussies believe they’re more Covid compliant than their peers

Most Australians believe they are extremely diligent at complying with Covid-19 restrictions but think others are not, a new psychology study shows.

People line up at a Covid-19 testing clinic in Sydney’s Redfern on Wednesday. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Most Australians believe they are extremely diligent at complying with Covid-19 restrictions but think others are not, a new psychology study shows.

The study by the Australian National University revealed that Western Australia and NSW – where Covid-19 cases skyrocketed this week – had self-reported compliance levels below the national average.

The nationwide survey of ­almost 1700 people measured participants’ self-reported compliance with Covid-19 restrictions such as self-isolating after a test and wearing a mask in public, and found more than 80 per cent of respondents rated their own compliance as being higher than others around them. The data – collected last year – found a tendency for people to assume that other people in their community were less compliant.

Lead author Zoe Leviston of the ANU Research School of Psychology said the results were a social phenomenon dubbed the “better-than-average” effect.

“This is our tendency to think that we’re better than others on a whole range of attributes,” she said.

Dr Leviston said the “better-than-average” mindset also stemmed from people’s tendency to fixate on noncompliance during the pandemic despite these instances being infrequent.