Sir, – The headline "Only 37 per cent feel others have changed behaviour in public, survey shows" (News, April 13th) was inaccurate. In fact, the figure of 37 per cent refers to people who rated other people's adaptation to the restrictions when outdoors as being nine or 10 on a 10-point scale.
Correspondence with the researchers reveals that the large majority of respondents gave a rating of seven out of 10 or higher.
In other words, the Irish public overwhelmingly does feel that others have changed their behaviour in public.
This mistake is unfortunate, given the gravity of the issue. Our willingness to follow the public health guidance will depend not only on our own behaviour, but also on what we perceive others are doing.
There is no indication yet that significant groups in the Irish public are not respecting what is being asked of them.
Indeed, the survey conducted by researchers in Dublin City University and NUI Galway of approximately 100,000 people confirms existing evidence that the public has strongly supported the Covid-19 response and actively adhered to the restrictions. – Yours, etc,
Prof LIAM DELANEY,
Department of Economics,
University College Dublin;
Prof PETE LUNN,
Behavioural
Research Unit,
ESRI.