School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
School of Design, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
Psych J. 2024 Apr;13(2):190-200. doi: 10.1002/pchj.719. Epub 2023 Dec 17.
This study aimed to evaluate the effect of anti-pandemic measures, including wearing a face mask and receiving vaccinations, on interpersonal distance (IPD) during the normalization stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual reality (VR) technology was used to simulate the experimental environment and a confederate in different conditions. Thirty-one participants were asked to approach the virtual confederate, who could exhibit three vaccination states and two mask-wearing conditions, actively and passively in both indoor and outdoor environments. ANOVA results showed that the participants kept a smaller IPD from the confederate wearing a face mask (IPD = 125.6 cm) than from the one without a face mask (IPD = 154.2 cm). The effects of vaccination states were significant, with the largest distance for an unvaccinated confederate (IPD = 182.3 cm) and the smallest distance for the confederate who had received a booster vaccine (IPD = 111.5 cm). Significant effects of environment were also found, with the participants maintaining a larger IPD in an outdoor environment (IPD = 143.4 cm) than in an indoor room (IPD = 136.4 cm). Additionally, the IPD collected when the participants were passively approached (IPD = 149.6 cm) was significantly larger than that obtained when they actively approached the confederate (IPD = 130.3 cm). Moreover, when the participants faced a confederate who had received a booster vaccine and wore a mask, the IPD was not significantly different from that collected before the COVID-19 pandemic in both the active and passive patterns. These findings help us to better understand the nature of IPD and human behaviors during the normalization stage of the pandemic and provide scientific suggestions for policymakers to develop pandemic-prevention measures.
本研究旨在评估包括戴口罩和接种疫苗在内的防疫措施在 COVID-19 大流行常态化阶段对人际距离(IPD)的影响。研究使用虚拟现实(VR)技术模拟实验环境和不同条件下的同伙。31 名参与者被要求接近虚拟同伙,同伙可以在室内和室外环境中主动和被动地表现出三种接种状态和两种戴口罩状态。方差分析结果表明,参与者与戴口罩的同伙保持的 IPD 较小(IPD=125.6cm),与不戴口罩的同伙保持的 IPD 较大(IPD=154.2cm)。接种状态的影响显著,未接种疫苗的同伙的距离最大(IPD=182.3cm),接种加强疫苗的同伙的距离最小(IPD=111.5cm)。环境的影响也很显著,参与者在户外环境中保持的 IPD 较大(IPD=143.4cm),在室内房间中保持的 IPD 较小(IPD=136.4cm)。此外,参与者在被动接近时收集的 IPD(IPD=149.6cm)明显大于主动接近同伙时收集的 IPD(IPD=130.3cm)。此外,当参与者面对接种加强疫苗并戴口罩的同伙时,主动和被动模式下的 IPD 与 COVID-19 大流行前收集的 IPD 没有显著差异。这些发现有助于我们更好地理解大流行常态化阶段的 IPD 性质和人类行为,并为政策制定者制定防疫措施提供科学建议。