More than 80 per cent of Australians think they are more COVID compliant than everyone else in their community, an ANU study has found.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A survey collated responses from nearly 1700 people in 2020.
Lead author Dr Zoe Leviston, from the ANU Research School of Psychology, said ACT residents were among the most likely to give their neighbours unfair assessments.
She said the results reflected a social phenomenon known as the "better-than-average" effect.
"This is our tendency to think that we're better than others on a whole range of attributes," Dr Leviston said.
"We expected to see this effect whereby we think we're better than others when it comes to complying with COVID restrictions."
MORE COVID-19 NEWS:
Dr Leviston said the bias would make people fixate on others' non-compliance more than their compliance.
"People are very conscious of the personal sacrifices they've made such as staying home, only going out for essential purposes and wearing a mask at all times, so when we see someone that behaves in a way they shouldn't, that sticks in our mind," she said.
"If you walk through a shopping centre and see 10 people wearing a mask and the 11th person is not wearing a mask, you tend to ignore the 10 people who are doing the right thing.
"Instead, all of your attention focuses on the one person doing the wrong thing, even though this stranger might have a valid reason."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram