**2. Theoretical Background**

The normative activation model (NAM) proposed by Schwartz [32] was used to explain altruistic behavior and was extended to explain various pro-social and pro-environmental behaviors, such as energy-saving behavior [33], green consumption behavior [34–36], environmental behavior [36,37], etc. The NAM has been widely used in environmental, psychological, and behavioral research and is among the most important theories for studying the individuals' socially or environmentally responsible behavior [38]. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the NAM has been widely used in studies to analyze people's infection prevention behavior. A study analyzed people's willingness to get vaccinated before traveling from the perspective of the NAM, suggesting that mass media messages activated personal norms by positively influencing people's awareness of the consequences and ascription of responsibility, prompting people to get vaccinated before traveling [30]. Another study analyzed Chinese people's intentions to save masks in the post-COVID-19 era from the perspective of the NAM and confirmed that personal norms had a significantly positive impact on mask-saving behavior and that awareness of the consequences and ascription of responsibility indirectly influenced the intention to save masks through personal norms [31]. Therefore, it is appropriate to analyze the contribution of a DCTA to people's willingness to consistently cooperate with the government in preventing COVID-19 from the perspective of the NAM.

The theory uses awareness of the consequences, attribution of responsibility, and personal norms to explain people's pro-social behavior [32] (Figure 1). The NAM suggests that awareness of the consequences and ascription of responsibility can activate personal norms and thus trigger pro-social behavior. Pro-social behavior is an umbrella term covering a range of behaviors that have a positive impact on society, such as giving help, cooperating, and comforting [39]. Awareness of the consequences means that individuals are aware of the negative consequences of their actions [40]. Ascription of responsibility refers to the reflection of individuals who are responsible for the adverse consequences of their non-participation in pro-social activities [40]. Personal norms are defined as the moral obligations that a person needs to fulfill for a particular behavior. According to the theory, a person's pro-social behavior or intentions are influenced by personal norms, and awareness of the consequences and ascription of responsibility can activate such norms [41]. People are more willing to engage in pro-social behavior when they perceive it as a moral obligation to perform or avoid a particular behavior [41,42].

**Figure 1.** The original norm activation model.
