In the paper, entitled “Options for Increasing Adherence to Social Distancing Measures,” unnamed members of the SAGE “behavioral science subcommittee” laid out the issue clearly: Perceived threat: A substantial number of people still do not feel sufficiently personally threatened; it could be that they are reassured by the low death rate in their demographic group…. The perceived level of personal threat needs to be increased among those who are complacent, using hard-hitting emotional messaging. [emphasis in the original]
