Core social motives explain responses to collective action issues

Managing collective action issues such as pandemics and climate change requires major social and behavioral change. Dominant approaches to addressing these issues center around information provision and financial incentives to shift behavior, yet, these approaches are rarely effective without integrating insights from psychological research on motivation. By accurately characterizing human motives, social scientists can identify when and why individuals engage, and facilitate behavior change and public engagement. Here, we use the core social motives model to sort social psychological theories into five fundamental social motives: to Belong, Understand, Control, self-Enhance, and Trust. We explain how each motive can improve or worsen collective action issues, and how this framework can be further developed towards a comprehensive social psychological perspective to collective action issues. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Drinking to cope with COVID-19 anxiety predicts greater alcohol problems for undergraduate students.

Objective: Drinking more and drinking to cope increase undergraduates' likelihood of experiencing alcohol-related problems (ARP; e.g., driving intoxicated). In accordance with stress-coping models of addiction, anxiety about COVID-19 may motivate undergraduates to drink to cope, leading them to experience more ARP. However, this hypothesis has not been tested. Participants and methods: During fall 2020, 358 undergraduate drinkers (Mage = 21.18; 69.80% cis-women; 62.30% White) provided data regarding COVID-anxiety, alcohol consumption, drinking to cope, and ARP during an annual student survey. Results: Mediation analysis controlling for alcohol consumption revealed greater COVID-anxiety predicted higher levels of drinking to cope; in turn, higher levels of drinking to cope were associated with more ARP. Additionally, the positive relationship between greater COVID-anxiety and experiencing more ARP was explained entirely by higher levels of drinking to cope. Conclusion: During the pandemic and beyond, university prevention and intervention initiatives should target coping motives for alcohol use to help students avoid ARP.

Impact of COVID- 19 on Eating Out Culture and Sensory Priorities

Purpose- The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether sensory priorities & dining out habits of the society were modified during COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.Design / Methodology/ Approach- Data was collected from a total 304 respondents comprising frequent diners, academicians and industry practitioners. A structured questionnaire was designed through a detailed discussion with academicians & practitioners. Exploratory factor analysis was used to explore most preferred food choice variables whereas a paired sample t test was performed to assess shifts in frequencies of eat out prior and post COVID 19 pandemic outbreak.Findings- 'Taste and flavor of the product' was most preferable sensory priority for food selection before pandemic. However, this priority has been replaced by hygiene, cleanliness, zero touch points and contactless order due to COVID-19 pandemic. Newly emerged most preferred food choice variables include touch less consumer experience, sanitized restaurants, food safety certifications, contactless order, health and hygiene. Restaurants had to reframe, restructure their SOPs and strategies to gain the confidence of the customers as an outbreak of a pandemic disrupted lifestyle whereas consumption pattern, dining habits of consumers were modified. Originality/value- This study reveals the modified dining out habits and conscious consumption led to changed sensory priorities, as a strategy to recover from a worldwide epidemic and transition to a "new normal" phase of the service sector.

Consumer Preferences and Segmentation of Consumers of Food Services in Poland-during Pandemic

The research aimed to explore preferences regarding the selection of collective consumption, with attention being given to the following three research constructs: the attractiveness of collective consumption, economic determinants for using the offer of food services, as well as social and cultural determinants for consumer behaviours on the food services market. The research was conducted through a direct channel, using a questionnaire prepared to this end. The research process, during which primary data was gathered, comprised the following three stages: qualitative research, quantitative pilot research and proper quantitative research. The proper quantitative research covered a representative random sample of 2,102 Poles aged above 18. The article presents the results of research carried out to examine preferences regarding the use of food services provided by restaurants and attempts to categorise consumers of food services into segments. Empirical material was gathered and analysed to identify five consumer segments. The data obtained not only supplements existing research by providing up-to-date pandemic-related information on changing preferences on the food services market and gives restaurant owners (restaurateurs) guidance on designing food product architecture for individual consumer segments, but also provides a starting point for research hypotheses that can be formulated in future scientific research.

Students ' Attitudes Towards the Origin of the Virus Causing Covid-19 and Vaccination against It

An integrated approach, using quantitative and qualitative research methodology, with a sample of 150 students, reveals the attitude of students to the nature and origin of the virus causing COVID-19, as well as vaccines, scientific evidence and prospects for their use. The results show, despite the expectations that students would have more trust in scientific information about vaccines and a higher percentage of vaccinated, that they do not differ from the general population in our country. More than half believe in conspiracy theories about the artificial origin and spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, and do not trust the scientific evidence on the safety of vaccines. The vaccinated one third of the sample have statistically significantly more confidence in scientific evidence than u nvaccinated. Vaccinated students live in households where the majority are vaccinated, while unvaccinated students live in households where the majority are not vaccinated. The motives for vaccination for those who have done so and those around one tenth who intend to be vaccinated are less related to medical logic. For most of the vaccinated, the motives are related to the way of life - frequent travel abroad, being able to work to survive, not having to pay for different tests every day. The role of higher education institutions in improving students' awareness of the medical logic of pandemic control and making young people leaders in this process is discussed.

How Motivation, Nomophobic Design and Environmental Demands Predict Students' Media Multitasking when Participating in Online Courses During COVID-19: An Empirical Study with a HCI Time and Temporality Lens

There is an emerging shift in human-computer interaction (HCI) research from things to events and towards time and temporality as a design material, which is made even more urgent by the unique time of the COVID-19 period. This paper pushes this shift forwards by investigating factors and the way that these shape online media multitasking behaviour over time during COVID-19. We model the factors along the WHAT and HOW dimensions of the HCI-over-Time model (HCIoT) with self-report data from 117 university students and objective behavioural data from 40 university students, who participated in an online course over 2 weeks during COVID-19. The results indicated a pervasiveness of media multitasking behaviour over time in an online course, driven by individual factors and enhanced by their mutual fit. Based on interpretation of our data, we suggest conceptualizing the COVID-19 period as the larger temporal environment in the HCIoT model. The discussion further explains how the broader idea of human-computer-environment fit is significant to understand HCIoT through an interaction lens. We discuss methodological issues related to differentiating between self-report and behavioural measures when applying the HCIoT model. The conclusion supports the feasibility and significance of conceptualizing media multitasking during COVID-19 as temporal HCI and of further developing and operationalizing the HCIoT model by using both behavioural and self-report measures.

Greek Semi-Hard and Hard Cheese Consumers' Perception in the New Global Era

The COVID-19 pandemic is almost over but has already left its mark and is changing the world fast and drastically in all social, economic, and cultural aspects of humanity, including consumers' choices and motives for foods. Since cheese is a major dietary food consumed daily worldwide, motives for its purchase and consumption in the new era are an important parameter affecting current and future production and sustainable regional development. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on Greek consumers' motives for quality semi-hard and hard cheese, including the "Ladotyri” hard cheese. Consumers' motives were tested using variables of quality semi-hard and hard cheese, such as purchase and consumption, preference of choice, preference, and knowledge of the Ladotyri cheese. A self-response questionnaire survey was carried out in November and December 2022 on a sample of 860 participants, the majority being young people aged 18–25 (83.9%), through the Google platform. Basic statistical tools, combined with cross and chi-square tests, were used to analyze the collected data. The results indicate no significant changes in consumers' motives except a significant decline in consumption, reaching up to 8.4%. Consumers continue to purchase the semi-hard and hard cheese from the supermarket (90%), with preference for the most known kinds, such as kasseri and graviera, consuming it at home (90.9%), daily (31.8%), or two times per week (38.3%), primarily with bread and olives (57.6%), followed by meat (53%). Price remains the most important information for the selection of semi-hard and hard cheese (73.5%), taste (97%) among the organoleptic parameters, texture (70.9%) among the appearance parameters, origin of milk (63.9%) among the sustainable parameters, and value for money (85.8%) among the general characteristics of the cheese. The participants expressed similar motives for the "Ladotyri” Mytilinis hard cheese, appreciating the olive oil combined with the cheese (79.7%) and the possible production as a non-refrigerated cheese (65.2%), even though the majority of them would not buy it today (57.4%). Our findings indicate that the sustainability and growth of the quality semi-hard and hard cheese in the new era should stick to the good practices of production, promotion, and sales developed before the pandemic, exploring, however, new avenues and practices to increase consumption, which is currently declining. © 2023 by the authors.

Do efforts to address safety pay off? Evidence from the sharing economy in the post–pandemic world

PurposeApplying the value creation of corporate social responsibility (CSR), this study aims to investigate the direct effect of preventive measures in the postpandemic world on Airbnb consumers' attitudes toward the host, which may further impact their behavioral intentions. It also examined the mediating role of perceived risk and perceived motives, as well as the moderating role of message strategies and risk tolerance in this process.Design/methodology/approachA 2 (preventive measures: basic versus enhanced) × 2 (message strategies: promotional social cause message [PSC] versus partake-in-our-cause message [PIOC]) between-subjects factorial design was conducted with a sample of 476 US Airbnb consumers through an online survey. PROCESS macro was used for hypothesis testing.FindingsResults demonstrated that enhanced preventive measures had more positive impact on Airbnb consumers' attitudes toward the host, which was positively related to positive word of mouth and booking intention. Perceived risk and perceived motives mediated the relationship between preventive measures and attitude toward Airbnb hosts. Positive relationships between attitude toward the host and behavioral intentions were strengthened when PIOC was used than PSC. The negative relationship between preventive measures and perceived risk was enhanced when PIOC was used than PSC. Risk tolerance did not interact with messages strategy to impact the relationship between preventive measures and perceived risk.Originality/valueThe study uncovered the mechanisms by which consumers form their responses toward different safety information of Airbnb accommodations postpandemic and the role of message strategies in the process. It provided implications for the Airbnb platform and hosts in the postpandemic period.

Views and Perceptions of People Aged 55+ on the Vaccination Programme for Older Adults in the UK: A Qualitative Study.

Vaccination reduces the risks related to infectious disease, especially among more vulnerable groups, such as older adults. The vaccines available to older adults in the UK through the government-funded programme currently include influenza, pneumococcal, shingles and COVID-19 vaccines. The purpose of the programme is disease prevention and improving wellbeing among the ageing population. Yet, the target population's views of the programme remain unknown. This paper aims to increase the understanding of older adults' perceptions of the vaccination programme available in the UK. A total of 13 online focus groups (56 informants) were carried out for this qualitative study. The findings indicate that getting vaccinated involves personal decision-making processes, which are influenced by previous experiences and interpersonal interactions. Factors related to the wider community and culture are less prominent in explaining vaccination decisions. However, opportunistic vaccination offers, a lack of information and a lack of opportunities to discuss vaccines, especially with healthcare professionals, are prominent factors. The study provides in-depth data about the rationale behind older adults' vaccination decisions in the UK. We recommend that the provision of information and opportunities to discuss vaccines and infectious disease be improved to enable older adults' to make better informed decisions regarding the vaccines available to them.

Hazardous alcohol use, drinking motives and COVID-19-related anxiety in college students.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the associations of anxiety and drinking motives with hazardous and binge alcohol use among young adults. PARTICIPANTS: We recruited young adults (N = 182, mean age 25) between November 2020 and December 2020. METHODS: Linear regressions were used to evaluate relationships among hazardous alcohol use (US Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-C [USAUDIT-C]), binge drinking (Alcohol Intake Questionnaire [AIQ]), PROMIS-Anxiety, COVID-19 related anxiety (CAS), and the drinking to cope with depression and anxiety subscales of the Modified Drinking Motives Questionnaire. RESULTS: Sixty-two percent of participants reported hazardous drinking (USAUDIT-C score > 4). PROMIS Anxiety and CAS scores were 63.7 and 1.0, respectively. Scores were positively associated with drinking patterns. However, the drinking to cope with depression motive significantly mediated these associations. CONCLUSIONS: After the onset of the pandemic, hazardous and binge drinking patterns among young adults were associated with drinking to cope with depression rather than anxiety.

Alcohol Use, Anxiety and Depression among French Grandes Écoles Engineering Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In French Grandes Écoles, heavy alcohol consumption seems to be generalized and largely tolerated, leading to particular concerns about Alcohol Use Disorder and harmful alcohol practices among students. The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased psychological difficulties, and two coexisting scenarios seemed to emerge regarding alcohol consumption: A decrease in alcohol consumption linked to the absence of festive events, and an increase in solitary alcohol consumption to cope with lockdowns. The aim of this exploratory study is to investigate the evolution of alcohol consumption, consumption motives and the relationship of these factors to the anxiety and the depression of French Grandes Écoles students during the COVID-19 pandemic, depending on their residential status. After the last lockdown, 353 students completed a questionnaire measuring alcohol consumption, motivation to drink, anxiety and depression during and after the COVID-19 period. Although students confined to campus were more likely to increase their alcohol use, they also presented higher well-being scores than those who lived off campus. A significant proportion of students were aware of their increased alcohol use due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the motives attributed to their increased consumption highlight the need for vigilance and specialized support facilities.

Online Gambling in the Midst of COVID-19: A Nexus of Mental Health Concerns, Substance Use and Financial Stress.

This study examined the emerging impact of COVID-19 on gambling during the first 6 weeks of emergency measures in Ontario, Canada. A cross-sectional online survey of 2005 gamblers, including a sub-sample of 1081 online gamblers (age 18 years and older), was administered to assess risky gambling behaviours and motivations, financial impacts from COVID-19, the influence of COVID-19 on online gambling, mental health concerns and substance use. A series of odds ratio comparisons and measures of association were carried out. Results show significant likelihood of online gambling among those classified as high-risk gamblers (according to the Problem Gambling Severity Index) and those with past experience of online gambling, though migration from land-based gambling was apparent. Among high-risk online gamblers, the most predictive risk factors included moderate and severe anxiety and depression, reduced work hours, being influenced to gamble due to COVID-19, gambling under the influence of cannabis or alcohol and risky gambling motives tied to mental health concerns, including gambling because it helps with nervousness and depression, chasing gambling losses and seeking to earn income. This study has confirmed many of the risk associations presented in emerging COVID-19-related studies and past research on global economic crisis relating to gambling risk, mental health concerns and substance use. However, unlike many past studies, the present paper takes note of all of these elements holistically and provides incremental clarity on online gambling risk factors during the pandemic, specifically.

Sexting motives and sexting behavior among emerging adults in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown

Sexting behavior is a contemporary form of sexual expression where people can send, receive, and exchange sexually suggestive content online. The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has greatly exposed emerging adults to sexting behavior. The present study aimed to examine the level of engagement in sexting behavior and the sexting motives (intimacy, enhancement, self-affirmation, coping, peer pressure, partner approval) among emerging adults in Malaysia during the pandemic lockdown period. Men and individuals in a relationship were previously observed to have reported a higher engagement in sexting. Therefore, the present study also investigated the differences in gender and relationship status in sexting behavior. A cross-sectional quantitative study was adopted to recruit 252 emerging adult respondents (Mage = 22.84, SDage = 2.05, females = 53.1%) through a purposive sampling method. The descriptive statistics indicated that nine in 10 emerging adults sexted and that an independent t-test depicted men and individuals in relationships being more likely to engage in sexting behavior. The hierarchical linear regression too showed that sexting motives of intimacy, enhancement, peer pressure, and partner approval contributed to a higher level of sexting behavior. Overall, the results may serve as resourceful input for future revisions and implementation of sexual reproductive health education.

Inhibited personality traits, internalizing symptoms, and drinking to cope during the COVID-19 pandemic among emerging adults.

Emerging adults with high levels of inhibited personality traits may be at-risk for drinking to cope during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current research explored mediational pathways between two inhibited personality traits (anxiety sensitivity (AS) and hopelessness (HOP)), internalizing symptoms (anxiety, depression, and COVID-19 distress), and coping drinking motives (drinking to cope with anxiety and drinking to cope with depression) during the pandemic. Cross-sectional data were collected from 879 undergraduate drinkers (79% female, 83% White, 18-25 years old) at five Canadian universities from January-April 2021. Participants self-reported on their personality, anxiety (GAD-7), depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), COVID-19 distress, and coping drinking motives. Mediational path analyses provided evidence of both specific and non-specific pathways between personality and coping motives via internalizing symptoms. Depressive symptoms partially mediated the link between HOP and drinking to cope with depression motives. While anxiety symptoms did not significantly mediate links between AS and coping with anxiety motives in the full model, evidence of mediation was found in a post-hoc sensitivity analysis. COVID-19 distress served as a non-specific mediator. AS and HOP are critical transdiagnostic risk factors that increase vulnerability for internalizing psychopathology and, in turn, risky drinking motives, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The "Mask Effect" on the tips that customers leave restaurant servers.

Masks have become the custom among restaurant workers and bartenders as a form of protection against COVID-19. Yet, given the rapid introduction of masks to the uniforms of restaurant servers there is a dearth of extant scholarship that has explored the effects of face coverings on customers' behaviors. In response, this research offers a preliminary test of the effect of server masks on a common consumer behavior in the full-service restaurant industry-tipping. We review theoretical and empirical reasons suggesting that a mask may have a negative effect on customers' tipping practices. Potential mask effects on tipping are then explored with a survey experiment that was administered to a large and diverse sample of Amazon Mechanical Turk "workers." Our results suggest that wearing a mask is not likely to, on average, have a meaningful effect on how much restaurant customers tip their servers. However, we do observe a negative indirect effect of a mask on customer reported tip amount through diminished perceptions of a hypothetical servers' friendliness. This effect was found to be attenuated among those who are altruistically motivated to tip servers as a way to help them financially. The implications of our results and directions for future research are discussed.

Alcohol use and motives for drinking across the menstrual cycle in a psychiatric outpatient sample.

BACKGROUND: Females who misuse alcohol experience high rates of negative physical and mental health consequences. Existing findings are inconsistent but suggest a relationship between ovarian hormones and alcohol use. We aim to clarify how alcohol use and drinking motives vary across the menstrual cycle in female psychiatric outpatients using the luteinizing hormone (LH)-confirmed cycle phase. METHODS: Daily self-reports (n = 3721) were collected from 94 naturally cycling females, recruited for past-month suicidal ideation, during the baseline phase of three parent clinical trials between February 2017 and May 2022. Multilevel logistic and linear models estimated the relationship between the cycle phase (with LH-surge confirmed ovulation) and daily alcohol use or drinking motives, moderated by the weekend. Models were adjusted for age, legal drinking status, substance use disorder, and the COVID-19 pandemic, and included random effects. RESULTS: Participants were generally more likely to drink in the midluteal (vs. perimenstrual) phase, but more likely to drink heavily on weekends in periovulatory and perimenstrual (vs. midluteal) phases. Social motives for drinking were significantly higher on weekends in the periovulatory, mid-follicular, and midluteal phases (vs. weekdays), but this finding was non-significant in the perimenstrual phase. Participants rated drinking to cope higher in the perimenstrual phase (vs. midluteal phase), regardless of the weekend. CONCLUSION: In a psychiatric sample with LH-surge-confirmed ovulation, we find an increased likelihood to drink heavily in periovulatory and perimenstrual phases on weekends. We also find that the perimenstrual phase is associated with increased drinking to cope, and relatively lower weekend social drinking. Finally, random effects across models suggest individual differences in the extent to which the cycle influences drinking. Our findings stress (1) predictable phases of increased high-risk alcohol use across the menstrual cycle, and (2) the importance of individual assessment of cyclical changes in alcohol use to predict and prevent ovulation- and menses-related surges in heavy drinking.

COVID-19 symptoms and compliance: The mediating role of fundamental social motives.

Background: Understanding the compliance of infected individuals and the psychological process underlying compliance during pandemics is important for preventing and controlling the spread of pathogens. Our study investigated whether fundamental social motives mediate the relationship between having infectious disease and compliance. Methods: An online survey was conducted in March 2020, during the severe phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in China to collect data from 15,758 participants. The survey comprised self-report questionnaires with items pertaining to current symptoms (COVID-19 symptoms, other symptoms or no symptoms), the Fundamental Social Motive Inventory, and measures of compliance. Correlation analysis, linear regression analysis, and structural equation model were used for data analysis. Results: The participants with COVID-19 symptoms had lower levels of compliance than those without symptoms, and their lower compliance was caused by a decrease in disease avoidance (indirect effect = -0.058, 95% CI = [-0.061, -0.056]) and familial motives (indirect effect = -0.113, 95% CI = [-0.116, -0.062]). Whereas exclusion concern (indirect effect = 0.014, 95% CI = [0.011, 0.017]) suppressed the effects of COVID-19 symptoms on compliance, the effect disappeared in the multiple mediation model, while those of disease avoidance and familial motives remained. Conclusion: Our findings emphasize the critical role of disease avoidance and familial motives in promoting compliance with public health norms during pandemics and suggest that enhancing these motives may serve as an effective intervention strategy to mitigate noncompliance among potentially infected individuals.

The effect of institutional CSR on brand advocacy during COVID-19: the moderated mediation effect of CSR expectancy and value-driven motivation

Purpose: This research aims to understand consumer responses to corporate social responsibility (CSR) during an unprecedented public health crisis. Specifically, two studies were conducted to investigate how companies' different CSR initiatives in the early stage of COVID-19 would influence consumers' advocacy intention according to their focus (i.e. targets of institutional CSR). The first study examined the moderating role of individuals' CSR expectancy on the effects of companies' CSR initiatives on consumers' brand advocacy intention. The second study further extends the findings of Study 1 by examining the mediating role of perceived brand motive. Design/methodology/approach: Two between-subject online experiments were conducted to explore the impact of three types of institutional CSR initiatives (i.e. community, employee and consumer-centered CSRs) on brand advocacy. Study 1 (N = 380) examined the moderating role of CSR expectancy in influencing consumer responses to institutional CSR initiatives. Study 2 (N = 384) explored the underlying mechanism through examining the mediating role of a company's value-driven motivation in the process. Findings: Study 1 indicated that institutional CSR, regardless of type, was more effective in generating a more significant brand advocacy intention than a promotional message, measured as a baseline. The impact of different kinds of institutional CSR on consumers' brand advocacy intentions was significantly moderated by their CSR-related expectations. Specifically, individuals with moderate to high CSR expectancy showed higher brand advocacy intentions in both consumer- and employee-centered CSR initiatives than the promotional message. In comparison, those with low CSR expectancy only showed higher brand advocacy intentions in the community-centered CSR initiative. In addition, as individuals' CSR expectations rose, the mediation effect of the perceived value-driven motivation became stronger. Research limitations/implications: The current study includes guiding principles to help companies effectively respond to COVID-19 as corporate citizens by demonstrating the importance of individuals' CSR expectancy across three CSR initiatives. This study used real-life examples of how leading companies were stepping up CSR efforts and suggested an approach that aligns CSR behaviors with the urgent and fundamental human needs of COVID-19. Originality/value: In line with the CSR goal of maximizing benefits for stakeholders, this study's findings signal that situational changes determine CSR expectations and that companies must be highly susceptible to the changes in consumers' expectations of CSR and their appraisal process of CSR motives to maximize its CSR value. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Core social motives explain responses to collective action issues

Managing collective action issues such as pandemics and climate change requires major social and behavioral change. Dominant approaches to addressing these issues center around information provision and financial incentives to shift behavior, yet, these approaches are rarely effective without integrating insights from psychological research on motivation. By accurately characterizing human motives, social scientists can identify when and why individuals engage, and facilitate behavior change and public engagement. Here, we use the core social motives model to sort social psychological theories into five fundamental social motives: to Belong, Understand, Control, self-Enhance, and Trust. We explain how each motive can improve or worsen collective action issues, and how this framework can be further developed towards a comprehensive social psychological perspective to collective action issues. © 2023 The Authors. Social and Personality Psychology Compass published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.