Stockpiling during the COVID-19 pandemic as a real-life social dilemma

Fischer, Moritz; Twardawski, Mathias ; Steindorf, Lena and Thielmann, Isabel (April 2021): Stockpiling during the COVID-19 pandemic as a real-life social dilemma. A person-situation perspective. In: Journal of Research in Personality, Vol. 91: p. 104075

Abstract

Prior research using economic games has shown that personality drives cooperation in social dilemmas. In this study, we tested the generalizability of these findings in a real-life social dilemma during the COVID-19 pandemic, namely stockpiling in the presence of low versus high resource scarcity. Honesty-Humility was negatively related to stockpiling intentions and justifiability of stockpiling. Moreover, we found a positive albeit weaker effect of Emotionality on stockpiling intentions. Victim Sensitivity was mostly positively associated with stockpiling intentions. None of the personality traits interacted with resource scarcity to predict stockpiling. Our findings replicate established associations between personality and cooperation in a real-life social dilemma, and suggest that the characteristics of interdependent situations during a pandemic additionally afford the expression of Emotionality.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Form of publication: Publisher's Version
• Keywords: Social dilemma, Stockpiling, Personality, HEXACO, Justice sensitivity
• Faculties: Psychology and Education Science > Department Psychology > Social Psychology
• Subjects: 100 Philosophy and Psychology > 150 Psychology
• ISSN: 0092-6566
• Language: English