Ideologically-based contact avoidance during a pandemic: Blunt or selective distancing from ‘others'?

This project sought to understand when ideology is relevant (or not) to predicting contact avoidance of ‘others' during the COVID-19 pandemic. Right-leaning ideologies (political conservatism, right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation) were not expected to predict greater contact avoidance per se, but rather exhibit selective avoidance of outgroup (vs. ingroup) members. White British participated in one exploratory (Study 1 N = 364) and two pre-registered (Study 2 N = 431, Study 3 N = 700) studies. As expected, right-leaning ideologies were significantly stronger predictors of greater preferred personal distance and contact discomfort regarding foreign outgroups (vs. British ingroup) in Studies 1 and 3 (partially supported in Study 2). Ideology rarely predicted ingroup reactions. This Ideology × Target pattern was itself not moderated by the perceived COVID-19 threat. Pre-pandemic theorizing that heightened behavioural immune system responses are associated with heightened right-leaning ideologies appear insufficient for use in actual pandemic contexts, especially when highly politicized. © 2023 The Authors. European Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Emergence of Curbside Pickup: Consumers’ Usage Intention Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

This study examines how consumers’ intention to use a curbside pickup responds to the COVID-19 vaccination rates. With our first survey conducted in March 2021, we find that a low (high) vaccination rate is associated with consumers’ high (low) intention to maintain contact avoidance and their high (low) anticipation for shipping delays. Heightened contact avoidance and anticipation for shipping delays may encourage consumers to use a curbside pickup. Our results also show that when a product is needed immediately, and a consumer expects shipping delays, s/he is more likely to use a curbside pickup. However, with our second survey conducted in November 2021, we find heterogeneous consumer responses to the vaccination rates. Specifically, consumers’ political affiliation moderates the relationship between the vaccination rates and their intention to maintain contact avoidance. The association between the vaccination rates and the anticipation for shipping delays is also weakened compared to March 2021. Our empirical results illustrate how consumers’ intention to use a curbside pickup emerges and changes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022, Asia Pacific Journal of Information Systems. All Rights Reserved.