Scenario:
Consider this study on hand hygiene among college students (White et al., 2005). The authors implemented a program of public awareness and education about the importance of hand washing (educational bulletin boards, for example) in two college dormitories. They also had two college dormitories that did not get the awareness campaign. Without telling the students that they had anything to do with the hand washing campaign, they recruited subjects from both sets of dormitories to keep weekly logs of various health behaviors. Students were offered incentives for their continued participation in keeping the logs, such as pizza coupons and even money (up to $60 during the course of the study).
Reference:
White, C., Kolble, R., Carlson, R., & Lipson, N. (2005). The impact of a health campaign on hand hygiene and upper respiratory illness among college students living in residence halls. Journal Of American College Health, 53(4), 175-181.
Question: Do you think this was coercive? Why or why not?