Cultural orientation, power, belief in conspiracy theories, and intentions to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Br J Soc Psychol
; 59(3): 663-673, 2020 Jul.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-614943
ABSTRACT
The current study investigated cultural and psychological factors associated with intentions to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Participants (n = 704) completed measures of individualism-collectivism, belief in conspiracy theories about COVID-19, feelings of powerlessness, and intentions to engage in behaviours that reduce the spread of COVID-19. Results revealed that vertical individualism negatively predicted intentions to engage in social distancing, directly and indirectly through both belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories and feelings of powerlessness. Vertical collectivism positively predicted social distancing intentions directly. Horizontal collectivism positively predicted social distancing intentions indirectly through feelings of powerlessness. Finally, horizontal collectivism positively predicted hygiene-related intentions both directly and indirectly through lower feelings of powerlessness. These findings suggest that promoting collectivism may be a way to increase engagement with efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19. They also highlight the importance of examining the interplay between culture and both personal feelings (powerlessness) and information consumption (conspiracy theories) during times of crisis.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Power, Psychological
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Risk Reduction Behavior
/
Intention
/
Betacoronavirus
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Br J Soc Psychol
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Bjso.12397
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS