The formality effect

This paper documents the existence of a 'formality effect' in government communications. Across three online studies and three field experiments in different policy contexts (total N = 67,632), we show that, contrary to researcher and practitioner predictions, formal government communications are more effective at influencing resident behaviour than informal government communications. In exploring mechanisms, we show that formality operates as a heuristic for credibility and importance. Recipients view the source of a formal letter as more competent and trustworthy, and view the request itself as more important to take action on, despite no evidence of change in comprehension or in perceived ease of taking action. These findings have immediate implications for government communicators and open the door for a renewed focus on how the design and presentation of information impacts behaviour. Effective government partly depends on effective communications to citizens. Over six studies in three different policy contexts, Linos et al. identify a counter-intuitive formality effect: citizens are more likely to respond to formal government communications than informal ones.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the "formality effect" in government communications and finds that formal government communications are more effective at influencing resident behavior than informal ones, which has significant implications for government communicators.