Investigating Attitudinal and Behavioral Changes in U.S. Households Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced rapid, large changes in U.S. households’ social dynamics resulting in substantial changes in their behavior. Virtually overnight, a large fraction of U.S. households has transitioned from a reality of long commutes, in-person classes and business meetings, and in-store shopping to one of telecommuting, online classes and business meetings, and online shopping – even for groceries. Many of these changes were happening already, but COVID-19 has pressed the fast-forward button. In this proposal, the research team is interested to know, after the threat of contagion is gone, to what extent will American society “go back” to the pre-COVID-19 way of life? Which behavioral changes will be long-lasting, and for whom? How, if at all, are the attitudes that underpinned the American lifestyle shifting in this crisis, and will these shifts be long-term? Moreover, what are the largest impacts of confinement in terms of attitudes and behavior? Over the past month, thought leaders have published widely in the popular press on these topics (e.g., Fulton, 2020), but to the team's knowledge, no data yet exists that can substantiate or refute their predictions. This project will begin to answer the questions listed above by deploying a nationwide multi-wave survey focused on social dynamics, attitudes, and behavior of American households before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. In the survey, the participants will be told upfront that they will be asked to fill follow up surveys at the 3-month, 6-month, and 9-month marks. Because the team expects participants to complete the (initial) survey at different times (in response to reminders), the data collection will, in effect, turn into a virtual continuous data collection protocol; thus, providing valuable longitudinal data that allows the near-continuous tracking of behaviors, attitudes, preferences, and perceptions.

• Record URL:
  https://tomnet-utc.engineering.asu.edu/projects/asu-investigating-attitudinal-behavioral-changes-covid-19-pandemic/

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $189,910
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3551747116

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Center for Teaching Old Models New Tricks (TOMNET)

  Arizona State University
  Tempe, AZ  United States  85287
• Performing Organizations:

  Center for Teaching Old Models New Tricks (TOMNET)

  Arizona State University
  Tempe, AZ  United States  85287
• Principal Investigators:

  Salon, Deborah

  Khoeini, Sara

• Start Date: 20200301
• Expected Completion Date: 20211001
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Before and after studies; Behavior; COVID-19; Households; Social factors; Surveys
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; Society; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01754998
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Teaching Old Models New Tricks (TOMNET)
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747116
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Oct 20 2020 8:31PM