Neuroscience, Neuroaesthetics, Semiotics and Effective Communication of COVID-19 Warning Information

The need to indicate the significant adverse effects of COVID-19 and the behaviour desired from the population to address this offer an excellent context to consider the varied approaches to providing such information. More specifically, it offers the opportunity to consider the potential utility of neuroscience and what could be usefully added when thinking about the design and presentation of warnings and information. With the understandable wish to neutralise the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have been displaying miscellaneous messages against the spread of SARS-CoV-2, perhaps some with untested assumptions that those messages would be effective. Despite this, there seems to be highly variable effectiveness in conveying protective messages. Primary causes of poor compliance with various preventive messages might involve a lack of clear vision and direction if the aim is to change citizens’ responsibility for their behaviour, consistency of such changes, and people having confidence in the information they are presented with. It would seem beneficial, in terms of effectiveness, for information presentation to be tailored to target community groups and for this to come from the governments or authorities after determining achievable practical interventions, understanding the citizen’s perceptions of the messages and how science, and particularly neuroscience, shows that the words in language alter behaviour. Last and not least, this allows suitable stylistic consistency to be applied to aid with messaging efficiency and recognisability.