Psychologist schools Prime Minister on how to motivate Belgians

Psychologist schools Prime Minister on how to motivate Belgians
Credit: Belga

A motivation psychologist from the University of Ghent (UGent) tweeted an “SOS package” on how to motivate the population to Prime Minister Alexander De Croo after a recent study showed a dip in the willingness to follow Covid-19 rules.

According to a study by the University of Ghent, Flemish people’s motivation to follow the coronavirus rules dropped below 50% following the announcement that the Christmas period would see no relaxations. “I think that most Flemings had hoped for a slight relaxation,” said Maarten Vansteenkinste, a psychologist from the University of Ghent, based on the results.

Vansteenkiste addressed De Croo with a few tips to step up the motivation of the population. starting by giving the people perspective by presenting a time schedule and intermediate goals.

Step two, according to Vansteenkiste, is to “keep risk awareness high” as the curve of infections is impacted upon relaxed measures.

Third, the government should “focus on solidarity and progress,” and finally, there must be a fixed communication moment from the government.

De Croo did not publicly respond to Vansteenkiste's tweet.

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The government has tried to play on Belgians’ sense of community by launching a campaign that says that “in a team you never let each other down, because that’s a real team. You never let go of each other.” De Croo tweeted that “only together can we defeat the coronavirus.”

Since the start of the pandemic, 594,572 Belgians have been confirmed to have coronavirus, and 17,507 people have died.

Jason Spinks

The Brussels Times


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