Flu

New research shows endowing diseases with human qualities makes people more likely to comply with health recommendations.

A humanizing message that speaks directly to that sense of dismissiveness could be particularly powerful: “You may have forgotten about the flu, but the flu hasn’t forgotten about you.” That could motivate people to ask themselves if they’re taking influenza seriously right now, and gives the virus a sense of intentionality, and even cunning, in its efforts to spread. We are not always good at taking the steps necessary to protect ourselves from diseases, even when we know we should, and even when we know what the steps are. “COVID is out to get you” endows the virus with human qualities of the sinister variety, for example, and gives it a sense of intent, again increasing psychological closeness and compliance. [Studies](https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1998-04189-004) have revealed that a sense of vulnerability increases health compliance. [Past studies](https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article/34/4/468/1820244) have demonstrated that this works in marketing communications—people respond more positively to a humanized car with an upturned grill evoking a smile than one with a downturned grill. In separate work, we confirmed that people are more motivated to protect themselves from humanized diseases because they feel psychologically closer to them and thus more vulnerable to them compared to non-humanized diseases. The evidence we found has implications for health-focused policies and messages that may motivate better compliance across a range of health risks. That’s because we [innately understand](https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/soco.2008.26.2.143) what it is to be human, and instinctively feel psychologically closer to other humans or objects with human characteristics. So we need to pull out all the stops to get people to take health-related action, and humanized depictions of disease seem to work particularly well. [tripledemic](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/16/us/covid-flu-rsv-tripledemic-data.html)” with large ongoing surges of the coronavirus, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV. [Vaccine rates](https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/3760205-flu-and-covid-19-vaccine-uptake-remain-low/) are nowhere near where they should be for COVID-19 and the flu, only compounding the issue. But really, any humanized depiction of disease—whether depression or an overactive bladder—can improve people’s willingness to comply with health recommendations such as getting screened and seeking intervention.