Reactance-sensitive pandemic communication in Germany: Insights from a randomized online experiment integrating protection motivation and planned behavior theories

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of public compliance with protective measures, yet our understanding of behavioral determinants and effective communication strategies for future crises remains limited. This study integrates protection motivation theory (PMT), the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and psychological reactance theory (PRT). It examines how PMT and TPB determinants predict protection motivation, how psychological reactance moderates these effects, and whether communication framing (mandatory vs. scientific) influences these dynamics. The objective is to inform reactance-sensitive risk communication strategies for sustained adherence to protective measures during crises. We conducted a randomized online experiment with 1,049 German adults (aged 18–85, 50% female) regarding a hypothetical new coronavirus variant. Participants were exposed to infection prevention measures framed as mandatory directives or scientific recommendations. Analyses included t-tests and regression models testing PMT/TPB predictors, reactance effects, and framing effects. Response efficacy, perceived severity, subjective norms, and attitudes were positively, and response costs negatively, associated with protection motivation; perceived vulnerability and self-efficacy were not significant. Reactance was associated with lower motivation, yet response efficacy was more strongly linked to motivation at higher reactance. Mandatory framing slightly increased reactance without increasing motivation but strengthened the severity–motivation association among highly reactant participants. Reactance thus emerged as both a barrier and a moderator of how appraisals translate into motivation, supporting an integrated PMT–TPB–PRT framework. Scientific framing appears preferable as a default, alongside messages emphasizing response efficacy and social norms while respecting autonomy. These insights may inform risk communication in disasters and other crises requiring public cooperation.