Trust in scientists on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and vaccine intention in China and the US.

When we recognize various factors which influence vaccine willingness, it is unclear whether these factors work the same in different countries. This study explored how trust in scientists was related to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancies and vaccine willingness in China and the U.S. We attempted to understand the extent to which the perceived trustworthiness of scientists would predict vaccine hesitancies and intention to get vaccinated differently in these two countries. An online survey with participants in China (N = 391) and in the U.S. (N = 363) was conducted. Participants were asked about their view of scientists' competence, benevolence, and integrity as dimensions of trustworthiness, three types of vaccine hesitancies, as well as their willingness to get vaccinated. The results showed that trust in scientists was negatively related to individual vaccine hesitancy in both China and the U.S., and trust was negatively associated with the level of contextual hesitancy and vaccine-specific hesitancy in the U.S. Higher trust in scientists was also associated with the willingness to get vaccines in the U.S., rather than in China. Results yielded differences in China and the U.S. in how trust in scientists and vaccine hesitancies predicted individuals' willingness to get vaccinated.

Motivating COVID-19 mitigation actions via personal norm: An extension of the norm activation model.

OBJECTIVE: Given the prosocial nature of COVID-19 mitigation actions, the norm activation model (NAM) provides a theoretical framework to understand how these mitigation behaviors may be driven by activating personal norms. Aimed at delineating the relationship between awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibility, two key variables in the model, the present study examined to what extent this relationship was moderated by political ideology, individual efficacy, and collective efficacy. METHOD: A cross-sectional online survey (N = 560) was implemented with a sample that matched the demographics of the national population in the U.S. RESULTS: The relationship between awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibility was stronger among liberals and those reporting low levels of individual efficacy and collective efficacy. CONCLUSION: Health behaviors such as COVID-19 mitigation actions can be motivated by activating individuals' sense of moral obligation, but the effectiveness of this approach depends on their political ideology and efficacy beliefs. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Campaigns can promote health behaviors by triggering the moral responsibility of the target audience through emphasizing severity of the consequences. This approach can be more effective for liberals and those that lack confidence in individual and collective abilities to avert the threat.

Vaccine for yourself, your community, or your country? Examining audiences' response to distance framing of COVID-19 vaccine messages.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored the effects of COVID-19 vaccine promotion messages highlighting the benefit at individual, community, and country levels. Based on the cultural theory of risks, we investigated how individuals' valuation of individualism vs. communitarianism and hierarchical vs. egalitarian social structure affect their responses to vaccine messages. METHODS: An online experiment (N = 702) with four video message conditions (individual-centered, community-centered, country-centered, and no message) was conducted. Participants were asked about their cultural cognition worldview, then were randomly assigned to view one message. Participants also reported their willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccines and support for vaccine mandate. RESULTS: Respondents were more likely to get vaccinated and support vaccine mandates after viewing an individual-centered message, less with a community-centered message. Individuals who value individualism were more likely to respond positively to individual-centered messages, but those who believe more in communitarianism value were less likely. CONCLUSION: Results showed that individuals are motivated selectively to respond to certain claims that cohere with their worldview and therefore respond differently to vaccine benefit frames. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The results point to the importance of understanding audiences' worldviews. By identifying this process through hierarchical and individualistic values, properly designed health promotion messages can maximize the desired outcomes.

Call them COVIDiots: Exploring the effects of aggressive communication style and psychological distance in the communication of COVID-19.

This study examined the influences of perceived distance to communicator on the effects of aggressive style (i.e. personal attacks and intense languages) in communicating scientific issues such as COVID-19 to the public. With a multi-site experiment (N = 464), we found that aggression led to a heightened violation of expected social norm regarding communication styles. However, the interpretation of violation varied depending on the individual's perceived distance to the communicator. Close distance articulated the urgency and severity of COVID-19 risks conveyed with aggression, which further increased compliance with the message. Far distance perception amplified aggression's negative influence on writer likeability. The findings showed that aggressive communication may generate positive outcomes when dealing with public understanding of scientific issues such as COVID-19, but communicators need to build a closer connection with their audience.