Majority feel they comply with Covid-19 rules better than others

More than nine in ten (92%) people grade their own compliance with Covid-19 lockdown restrictions as better than what they think the population average is, find UCL researchers as part of the Covid-19 Social Study. A further 6% felt they were complying the same amount as everyone else, and just 2% felt their compliance was lower than average. 'Majority' compliance or higher with the rules over the autumn (second) lockdown in England has remained above 90%, while 'complete' compliance is just under half (46-49%). When asked, the majority of people (96%) predicted that average population compliance was between one and five points lower than it actually was on the scale of 1-7 used in the study. This is contrasted with just 1% predicting it was higher and 3% predicting it accurately. It is the UK's largest study into how adults are feeling about the lockdown, government advice and overall wellbeing and mental health with over 70,000 participants who have been followed across the last 36 weeks. Lead author, Dr Daisy Fancourt (UCL Epidemiology & Health Care) said: "It is concerning that people consistently assume they are obeying the rules more than the average person.