PsychologyCommunications Psychology

Trust in government moderates the association between fear of COVID-19 as well as empathic concern and preventive behaviour

A. Karakulak, B. Tepe, et al.

This research delves into the fascinating motivations behind people's support for COVID-19 preventive measures, based on a survey of 12,758 individuals across 34 countries. It reveals how trust in government dramatically influences the relationship between empathic concern, fear of disease, and support for these behaviors. This study, conducted by a diverse group of authors, sheds light on how socio-cultural contexts shape collective action during global crises.... show more

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Abstract

With the COVID-19 pandemic, behavioural scientists aimed to illuminate reasons why people comply with (or not) large-scale cooperative activities. Here we investigated the motives that underlie support for COVID-19 preventive behaviours in a sample of 12,758 individuals from 34 countries. We hypothesized that the associations of empathic prosocial concern and fear of disease with support towards preventive COVID-19 behaviours would be moderated by trust in the government. Results suggest that the association between fear of disease and support for COVID-19 preventive behaviours was strongest when trust in the government was weak (both at individual and country-level). Conversely, the association with empathic prosocial concern was strongest when trust in the government was high, but this moderation was only found at individual-level scores of governmental trust. We discuss how motivations may be shaped by socio-cultural context, and outline how findings may contribute to a better understanding of collective action during global crises.

Publisher

Communications Psychology

Published On

Dec 15, 2023

Authors

Arzu Karakulak, Beyza Tepe, Radosveta Dimitrova, Mohamed Abdelrahman, Plamen Akaliyski, Rana Alaseel, Yousuf Abdulqader Alkamali, Azzam Amin, Danny A Lizarzaburu Aguinaga, Andrii Andres, John Jamir Benzon R Aruta, Marios Assiotis, Hrant Avanesyan, Norzihan Ayub, Maria Bacikova-Sleskova, Raushan Baikanova, Batoul Bakkar, Suncica Bartoluci, David Benitez, Ivanna Bodnar, Aidos Bolatov, Judyta Borchet, Ksenija Bosnar, Yunier Broche-Perez, Carmen Buzea, Duong Cong Doanh, Alejandra del Carmen Dominguez Espinosa, Wassim Gharz Edine, Nelli Ferenczi, Regina Fernandez-Morales, Jorge Gaete, Yiqun Gan, Suely Giolo, Rubia Carla Formighieri Giordani, Maria-Therese Friehs, Shahar Gindi, Biljana Gjoneska, Juan Carlos Godoy, Maria del Pilar Grazioso, Camellia Hancheva, Given Hapunda, Shogo Hihara, Mohd Saiful Husain, Md Saiful Islam, Anna Janovska, Nino Javakhishvili, Veljko Jovanovic, Russell Sarwar Kabir, Nor Ba'yah Abdul Kadir, Johannes Karl, Darko Katovic, Zhumaly Kauyzbay, Tinka Delakorda Kawashima, Maria Kazmierczak, Richa Khanna, Meetu Khosla, Martina Klicperova-Baker, Ana Kozina, Steven Eric Krauss, Rodrigo Landaburu, Katharina Lefringhausen, Aleksandra Lewandowska-Walter, Yun-Hsia Liang, Ana Makashvili, Sadia Malik, Denisse Manrique-Millones, Stefanos Mastrotheodoros, Breeda McGrath, Enkeleint A Mechili, Marines Mejia, Samson Mhizha, Justyna Michalek-Kwiecien, Diana Miconi, Fatema Mohsen, Rodrigo Moreta-Herrera, Camila Muhl, Maria Muradyan, Pasquale Musso, Andrej Naterer, Arash Nemat, Felix Neto, Joana Neto, Luz Marina Alonso Palacio, Hassan Okati-Aliabad, Carlos Ivan Orellana, Ligia Maria Orellana, Sushanta Kumar Mishra, Joonha Park, Iuliia Pavlova, Eddy Peralta, Petro Petrytsa, Sasa Pisot, Franjo Prot, Jose Rasia, Rita Rivera, Benedicta Prihatin Dwi Riyanti, Adil Samekin, Telman Seisembekov, Danielius Serapinas, Fabiola Silletti, Prerna Sharma, Shanu Shukla, Katarzyna Skrzypinska, Iva Polakova Solcova, Olga Solomontos-Kountouri, Adrian Stanciu, Delia Stefenel, Lorena Cecilia Lopez Steinmetz, Maria Stogianni, Jaimee Stuart, Laura Francisca Sudarnoto, Kazumi Sugimura, Sadia Sultana, Angela Oktavia Suryani, Ergyul Tair, Lucy Tavitian-Elmadjan, Luciana Dutra Thome, Fitim Uka, Rasa Pilkauskaite Valickiene, Brett Walter, Guilherme W Wendt, Pei-Jung Yang, Ebrar Yildirim, Yue Yu, Maria Angela Mattar Yunes, Milene Zanoni da Silva, Maksim Rudnev

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-023-00046-5

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