Prevention for oneself or others? Psychological and social factors that explain social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Christner, Natalie ; Sticker, Regina M.; Söldner, Lena; Mammen, Maria und Paulus, Markus (2020): Prevention for oneself or others? Psychological and social factors that explain social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. In: Journal of Health Psychology, Bd. 27, Nr. 6: S. 1342-1353

Abstract

Identifying the underlying psychological and social factors of social distancing is crucial to foster preventive behavior during a pandemic effectively. We investigated the relative contribution of self-focused factors (fear of infection, fear of punishment) and other-focused factors (moral judgment, moral identity, empathy for unspecific others, empathy for loved ones) in an online study in Germany (N = 246) while COVID-19 was climaxing. Importantly, other-oriented factors were related to social distancing behavior beyond self-oriented factors. Moral judgment and empathy for loved ones remained the dominant factors while controlling for all aspects. These findings underline the relevance of interpersonal considerations when engaging in preventive behavior.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Keywords: Covid-19; empathy; moral identity; norms; social distancing
• Fakultät: Psychologie und Pädagogik > Department Psychologie
• Themengebiete: 100 Philosophie und Psychologie > 150 Psychologie
• ISSN: 1359-1053
• Sprache: Englisch