Working memory capacity predicts individual differences in social-distancing compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Stability of individual differences in implicitly guided attention

Daily activities often occur in familiar environments, affording us an opportunity to learn. Laboratory studies have shown that people readily acquire an implicit spatial preference for locations that frequently contained a search target in the past. These studies, however, have focused on group characteristics, downplaying the significance of individual differences. In a pre-registered study, we examined the stability of individual differences in two variants of an implicit location probability learning (LPL) task. We tested the possibility that individual differences were stable in variants that shared the same search process, but not in variants involving different search processes. In Experiment 1, participants performed alternating blocks of T-among-Ls and 5-among-2s search tasks. Unbeknownst to them, the search target appeared disproportionately often in one region of space; the high-probability regions differed between the two tasks. LPL transferred between the two tasks. In addition, individuals who showed greater LPL in the T-task also did so in the 5-task and vice versa. In Experiment 2, participants searched for either a camouflaged-T against background noise or a well-segmented T among well-segmented Ls. These two tasks produced task-specific learning that did not transfer between tasks. Moreover, individual differences in learning did not correlate between tasks. Thus, LPL is associated with stable individual differences across variants, but only when the variants share common search processes.

Cognitive influences on biosecurity measure compliance during a global pandemic

Introduction

During the first years of the pandemic, COVID-19 forced governments worldwide to take drastic measures to reduce the spread of the virus. Some of these measures included mandatory confinements, constant use of masks, and social distancing. Despite these measures being mandatory in many countries and the abundance of evidence on their effectiveness at slowing the spread of the virus, many people failed to comply with them.

Methods

This research explored the role of cognitive factors in predicting compliance with COVID-19 safety measures across two separate studies. Building on earlier work demonstrating the relevance of cognitive processes in health behaviour, this study aimed to identify key predictors of adherence to safety guidelines during the pandemic. Utilising hierarchical regression models, we investigated the influence of age, sex, cognitive control, cognitive flexibility (Study 1), working memory, psychological health, and beliefs about COVID-19 (Study 2) on compliance to biosafety measures.

Results

Demographic variables and cognitive control were significant predictors of compliance in both studies. However, cognitive flexibility and working memory did not improve the models' predictive capacities. In Study 2, integrating measures of psychological health and beliefs regarding COVID-19 severity significantly improved the model. Further, interaction effects between age and other variables also enhanced the predictive value.

Discussion

The findings emphasise the significant role cognitive control, age, psychological health, and perceptions about COVID-19 play in shaping compliance behaviour, highlighting avenues for targeted interventions to improve public health outcomes during a pandemic.

OpenWMB: An open-source and automated working memory task battery for OpenSesame

Working memory capacity (WMC) has been measured with a plethora of cognitive tasks. Several preeminent automated batteries of working memory (WM) tasks have been developed recently. However, despite all their advantages, most batteries were programmed in paid platforms and/or only included a single WM paradigm. To address these issues, we developed the OpenWMB, an automated battery comprising seven tasks from three distinct paradigms (complex spans, updating tasks, and binding tasks) that tap into several functional aspects of WM (simultaneous storage and processing, updating, and binding). The battery runs on open-source software (OpenSesame) and is freely available online in a ready-to-download format. The OpenWMB possesses flexible features and includes a data processing script (that converts data into a format ready for statistical analysis). The instrument is available in Portuguese and English. However, we only assessed the psychometric properties of the former version. The Portuguese version presented good internal consistency and considerable internal and predictive validity: all tasks loaded into a single factor. Additionally, the WMC estimate was strongly correlated with a fluid intelligence factor. This study also tried to contribute to the ongoing debate regarding the best method to assess WMC. We computed a permutation analysis to compare the amount of variance shared between a fluid intelligence factor and (1) each WM task, (2) homogenous WMC factors (based on multiple tasks from the same paradigm), and (3) heterogeneous WMC factors (derived from triplets of tasks from different paradigms). Our results suggested that heterogeneous factors provided the best estimates of WMC.

Compliance with Health Recommendations and Vaccine Hesitancy During the COVID Pandemic in Nine Countries

Longitudinal data from the Parenting Across Cultures study of children, mothers, and fathers in 12 cultural groups in nine countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the USA; N = 1331 families) were used to understand predictors of compliance with COVID-19 mitigation strategies and vaccine hesitancy. Confidence in government responses to the COVID pandemic was also examined as a potential moderator of links between pre-COVID risk factors and compliance with COVID mitigation strategies and vaccine hesitancy. Greater confidence in government responses to the COVID pandemic was associated with greater compliance with COVID mitigation strategies and less vaccine hesitancy across cultures and reporters. Pre-COVID financial strain and family stress were less consistent predictors of compliance with COVID mitigation strategies and vaccine hesitancy than confidence in government responses to the pandemic. Findings suggest the importance of bolstering confidence in government responses to future human ecosystem disruptions, perhaps through consistent, clear, non-partisan messaging and transparency in acknowledging limitations and admitting mistakes to inspire compliance with government and public health recommendations.

The links between physical activity and prosocial behavior: an fNIRS hyperscanning study

The prevalence of physically inactive lifestyles in modern society raises concerns about the potential association with poor brain health, particularly in the lateral prefrontal cortex, which is crucial for human prosocial behavior. Here, we explored the relationship between physical activity and prosocial behavior, focusing on potential neural markers, including intra-brain functional connectivity and inter-brain synchrony in the lateral prefrontal cortex. Forty participants, each paired with a stranger, completed two experimental conditions in a randomized order: (i) face-to-face and (ii) face stimulus (eye-to-eye contact with a face stimulus of a fictitious person displayed on the screen). Following each condition, participants played economic games with either their partner or an assumed person displayed on the screen. Neural activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex was recorded by functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning. Sparse multiset canonical correlation analysis showed that a physically inactive lifestyle was covaried with poorer reciprocity, greater trust, shorter decision-making time, and weaker intra-brain connectivity in the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and poorer inter-brain synchrony in the ventral lateral prefrontal cortex. These associations were observed exclusively in the face-to-face condition. Our findings suggest that a physically inactive lifestyle may alter human prosocial behavior by impairing adaptable prosocial decision-making in response to social factors through altered intra-brain functional connectivity and inter-brain synchrony.

Familiarity enhances mnemonic precision but impairs mnemonic accuracy in visual working memory

Prior stimulus familiarity has a variety of effects on visual working memory representations and processes. However, it is still unclear how familiarity interacts with the veridical correspondence between mnemonic representation and external stimuli. Here, we examined the effect of familiarity on two aspects of mnemonic correspondence, precision and accuracy, in visual working memory. Specifically, we used a hierarchical Bayesian method to model task performance in a change detection task with celebrity lookalikes (morphed faces between celebrities and noncelebrities with various ratios) as the memory stimuli. We found that familiarity improves memory precision by sharpening mnemonic representation but impairs memory accuracy by biasing mnemonic representation toward familiar faces (i.e., celebrity faces). These findings provide an integrated account of the puzzling celebrity sighting phenomena with the dissociable effects on mnemonic imprecision and bias and further highlight the importance of assessing these two aspects of memory correspondence in future research.

Effortfulness of visual working memory: Gauged by physical exertion

Active maintenance of information in working memory (WM) is an essential but effortful cognitive process. Yet, the effortful nature of WM remains poorly understood. Here, we constructed a model to evaluate how perceived effort of WM is directly compared to that of physical exertion. In Experiment 1, participants freely chose to either remember a certain number of colors in a visual WM task or hold a hand dynamometer to a required percentage of maximal voluntary contraction (%MVC) to obtain a fixed task credit upon successful task completion. We found that participants discounted WM-related effort in the same way as they discounted handgrip-related effort based on a computation of expected choice outcomes (hence utility) associated with different task loads. This rationality in an observer's prospective choice in Experiment 1 was generalized to retrospective choice in Experiment 2 where participants reported which task was more effortful immediately after they had performed both tasks in a randomized order without any reward or feedback. Experiment 3 further probed this shared mechanism using a dual-task paradigm. As predicted by our model, we found that physical exertion could disrupt the performance in the concurrent WM task, proportional to the iso-effort relationship between WM and physical exertion when task loads were high for both tasks. Collectively, our findings converge on a shared computational principle connecting task load, perceived effort, and choice utility across physical and cognitive domains. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

How we learn social norms: a three-stage model for social norm learning

As social animals, humans are unique to make the world function well by developing, maintaining, and enforcing social norms. As a prerequisite among these norm-related processes, learning social norms can act as a basis that helps us quickly coordinate with others, which is beneficial to social inclusion when people enter into a new environment or experience certain sociocultural changes. Given the positive effects of learning social norms on social order and sociocultural adaptability in daily life, there is an urgent need to understand the underlying mechanisms of social norm learning. In this article, we review a set of works regarding social norms and highlight the specificity of social norm learning. We then propose an integrated model of social norm learning containing three stages, i.e., pre-learning, reinforcement learning, and internalization, map a potential brain network in processing social norm learning, and further discuss the potential influencing factors that modulate social norm learning. Finally, we outline a couple of future directions along this line, including theoretical (i.e., societal and individual differences in social norm learning), methodological (i.e., longitudinal research, experimental methods, neuroimaging studies), and practical issues.

Sustained attention required for effective dimension-based retro-cue benefit in visual working memory

In visual working memory (VWM) tasks, participants' performances can be improved through the use of dimension-based retro-cues, which direct internal attention to prioritize a particular dimension (e.g., color or orientation) of VWM representations even after the stimuli disappear. This phenomenon is known as the dimension-based retro-cue benefit (RCB). The present study investigates whether sustained attention is required for the dimension-based RCB by inserting interference or interruption between the retro-cue and the test array to distract attention. We tested the effects of perceptual interference or cognitive interruption on dimension-based RCB when the interference (Experiments 1 and 2 with masks) or interruption (Experiments 3 and 4 with an odd-even task) occurred concurrently with the stages for the maintenance of prioritized information (long cue-and-interference/interruption interstimulus interval, e.g., Experiments 1 and 3) or the deployment of attention (short cue-and-interference/interruption interstimulus interval, e.g., Experiments 2 and 4). Our results demonstrate that perceptual interference or cognitive interruption attenuates the dimension-based RCB. These findings suggest that sustained attention is necessary for the effective prioritization of a specific dimension of VWM representations.

Adherence to COVID-19 Protective Measures in a Longitudinal Sample of Male Youth

BACKGROUND

Adherence to COVID-19 protective measures is lowest for young people and males. The current study investigated characteristics associated with adherence to COVID-19 protective measures among male youth during the early months of the pandemic.

METHOD

The study used data from a prospective cohort study among male youth with baseline assessment in 2015/2016 and follow-up measurements in 2019 and summer 2020. Attrition-weighted multivariable ordinal logistic and log-binomial regression models were used to assess factors associated with adherence to overall and specific adherence measures, respectively.

RESULTS

Among 571 male youth (mean age 18.5), overall adherence was higher for those who were older (OR: 1.15; 95% CI: 1.03-1.30), non-White (OR: 1.96; 95% CI: 1.20-3.32), and residing in an urban area (OR: 2.06; 95% CI: 1.46-3.01). Overall adherence was lower for those who had a history of being drunk (OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.42-0.99). For outdoor mask-wearing, adherence was higher for youth with attention-deficit disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (RR: 1.58; 95% CI: 1.16-1.97) and lower for youth who currently used tobacco products (RR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.21-0.70). Before a statewide mask mandate was issued, non-White youth were more likely to report wearing masks in outdoor spaces than their non-Hispanic White peers (RR: 2.34; 95% CI: 1.75-3.23).

CONCLUSION

The study identified demographic, psychosocial, and behavioral factors associated with adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviors among male youth. The findings illustrate characteristics that could be leveraged for targeted preventive efforts during the ongoing pandemic and future outbreaks in a low-compliance group.

Self-esteem influences the willingness to engage in COVID-19 prevention behavior and persuasion efficacy

RATIONALE

Behaviors such as hand-washing and vaccination save human lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Yet, people differ widely in their willingness to engage in them. This investigation examines whether people's willingness to protect themselves physically from contracting coronavirus depends on their self-esteem. Based on self-verification theory, we propose that people who hold negative self-views are less motivated to protect their health which reduces their willingness to engage in recommended preventive measures such as mask-wearing and social-distancing.

OBJECTIVE

We set out to test (i) whether self-esteem predicts people's willingness to engage in COVID-19 prevention behaviors, (ii) whether this relationship is due to variance in motivation to protect one's health (as well as alternative mechanisms), and (iii) whether health messages can more successfully persuade low self-esteem people to follow preventive measures by framing those behaviors around protecting the health of others (vs. oneself).

METHODS

Four studies were conducted with U.S. and German residents. In Study 1, we examine the association between self-esteem, willingness to engage in self-protection behavior, health motivation, and several alternative accounts. In Study 2, we manipulate state self-esteem, and in Studies 3 and 4, we vary the target of COVID-19 prevention behaviors (self vs. other).

RESULTS

People with chronic or temporarily induced low self-esteem report a lower willingness to engage in COVID-19 prevention behaviors because they lack motivation to protect their health. Varying the protection target of preventive behaviors (self vs. others) interacts with self-esteem: Low self-esteem people are more willing to follow preventive measures (e.g., vaccination) when they are framed as protecting others (vs. oneself).

CONCLUSIONS

Self-esteem impacts people's behavior during a global pandemic and needs to be considered when designing health communications. Public health messages can increase compliance among individuals with lower self-esteem by framing prevention behaviors as a way to protect the health of others.

Lapses in the Person Radar: ADHD Symptoms Predict Difficulty in Interpersonal Distancing

OBJECTIVE

Across contexts, from social cognition to the COVID-19 pandemic response, individual variation in the regulation of interpersonal distance has typically been viewed as a voluntary choice. Here we examine the frequency of unintentional lapses in interpersonal distancing, and their relationship with childhood ADHD symptoms.

METHOD

We administered a novel measure of difficulty with interpersonal distancing across three undergraduate samples (total N = 1,225), in addition to measures of recalled childhood ADHD symptoms, mind wandering, and hyperfocus.

RESULTS

Almost all (>97%) participants reported unintentional lapses in maintaining interpersonal distance, with 16% experiencing such lapses frequently. Thirty percent of the variance in these reports was accounted for by attentional traits: Inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive ADHD symptoms jointly predicted difficulties with interpersonal distancing, with the former relationship fully mediated by hyperfocus and spontaneous mind wandering.

CONCLUSION

Both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive ADHD symptoms confer vulnerability to frequent unintentional lapses in interpersonal distancing.

The Aversive Lens: Stress effects on the prefrontal-cingulate cortical pathways that regulate emotion

ARNSTEN, A.F.T., M.K.P. Joyce and A.C. Roberts. The Aversive Lens: Stress effects on the prefrontal-cingulate cortical pathways that regulate emotion. NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV REV XXX-XXX, 2022. The symptoms of major-depressive-disorder include psychic pain and anhedonia, i.e. seeing the world through an "aversive lens". The neurobiology underlying this shift in worldview is emerging. Here these data are reviewed, focusing on how activation of subgenual cingulate (BA25) induces an "aversive lens", and how higher prefrontal cortical (PFC) areas (BA46/10/32) provide top-down regulation of BA25 but are weakened by excessive dopamine and norepinephrine release during stress exposure, and dendritic spine loss with chronic stress exposure. These changes may generate an attractor state, which maintains the brain under the control of BA25, requiring medication or neuromodulatory treatments to return connectivity to a more flexible state. In line with this hypothesis, effective anti-depressant treatments reduce the activity of BA25 and restore top-down regulation by higher circuits, e.g. as seen with SSRI medications, ketamine, deep brain stimulation of BA25, or rTMS to strengthen dorsolateral PFC. This research has special relevance in an era of chronic stress caused by the COVID19 pandemic, political unrest and threat of climate change.

Changes in virus-transmission habits during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-national, repeated measures study

OBJECTIVE

The COVID-19 pandemic saw promotion of novel virus transmission-reduction behaviours, and discouragement of familiar transmission-conducive behaviours. Understanding changes in the automatic nature of such behaviours is important, because habitual behaviours may be more easily reactivated in future outbreaks and disrupting old habits may discontinue unwanted behaviours.

DESIGN

A repeated-measures, multi-national design tracked virus-transmission habits and behaviour fortnightly over six months (Apr-Sept 2020) among 517 participants (age M = 42 ± 16y, 79% female).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Within-participant habit trajectories across all timepoints, and engagement in transmission-reduction behaviours (handwashing when entering home; handwashing with soap for 20 seconds; physical distancing) and transmission-conducive behaviours (coughing/sneezing into hands; making physical contact) summed over the final two timepoints.

RESULTS

Three habit trajectory types were observed. Habits that remained strong ('stable strong habit') and habits that strengthened ('habit formation') were most common for transmission-reduction behaviours. Erosion of initially strong habits ('habit degradation') was most common for transmission-conducive behaviours. Regression analyses showed 'habit formation' and 'stable strong habit' trajectories were associated with greater behavioural engagement at later timepoints.

CONCLUSION

Participants typically maintained or formed transmission-reduction habits, which encouraged later performance, and degraded transmission-conducive habits, which decreased performance. Findings suggest COVID-19-preventive habits may be recoverable in future virus outbreaks.

Interaction between Health and Financial Status on Coping Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND

The year 2022 started with protests against COVID-19 restrictions throughout North America. These events manifest the fact that some segments of the population are not compliant with the preventive measures of COVID-19, and the reasons of the disobedience against public health regulation remain unclear. The current paper examined the joint effect of financial and health status on people's likelihood of pursuing active coping efforts (i.e., following preventive measures) and giving up coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHOD

We conducted a large-scale survey study in China (N = 3834) in May 2020.

RESULTS

Our results showed that people with low financial status were less likely to manifest active coping behavior and more likely to give up coping with the pandemic. People's self-confidence in coping with the pandemic mediated this effect. We showed that one's health status could interact with their financial status in a way that healthy people with low financial status would have less confidence in their coping abilities and thus become less likely to pursue active coping efforts and more likely to give up coping with the pandemic.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results call for policymakers to find more effective solutions for noncompliant groups so that they can abide by the general guidelines in the COVID-19 context and other social crises that may emerge in the future. We suggest that governments should concentrate their support efforts on healthy populations of low financial segments to prevent COVID-19 and other infectious diseases in the future from spreading further.

Cognitive predictors of COVID-19 mitigation behaviors in vaccinated and unvaccinated general population members

BACKGROUND

Given the long-term threat posed by COVID-19, predictors of mitigation behaviors are critical to identify. Prior studies have found that cognitive factors are associated with some COVID-19 mitigation behaviors, but few studies employ representative samples and no prior studies have examined cognitive predictors of vaccination status. The purpose of the present study was to examine associations between cognitive variables (executive function, delay discounting, and future orientation) and COVID-19 mitigation behaviors (mask wearing, social distancing, hand hygiene and vaccination) in a population representative sample.

METHODS

A population representative sample of 2,002 adults completed validated measures of delay discounting, future orientation, and executive function. Participants also reported frequency of mitigation behaviors, vaccination status, and demographics.

RESULTS

Future orientation was associated with more mask wearing (β = 0.160, 95 % CI [0.090, 0.220], p < 0.001), social distancing (β = 0.150, 95 % CI [0.070, 0.240], p < 0.001), hand hygiene behaviors (β = 0.090, 95 % CI [0.000, 0.190], p = 0.054), and a higher likelihood of being fully vaccinated (OR = 0.80, 95 % CI [0.670, 0.970], p = 0.020). Lower delay discounting predicted more consistent mask wearing (β = -0.060, 95 % CI[-0.120, -0.010], p = 0.032) and being fully vaccinated (OR = 1.28, 95 % CI [1.13, 1.44], p < 0.001), while more symptoms of executive dysfunction predicted less mask wearing (β = -0.240, 95 % CI [-0.320, -0.150] p < 0.001) and hand hygiene (β = -0.220, 95 % CI [-0.320, -0.130], p < 0.001), but not vaccination status (OR = 0.96, 95 % CI [0.80, 1.16], p = 0.690) or social distancing behaviors (β = -0.080, 95 % CI [-0.180, 0.020], p = 0.097). Overall, social distancing was the least well-predicted outcome from cognitive factors, while mask wearing was most well-predicted. Vaccination status was not a significant moderator of these effects of cognitive predictors on mitigation behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS

Cognitive variables predict significant variability in mitigation behaviors. regardless of vaccination status. In particular, thinking about the future and discounting it less may encourage more consistent implementation of mitigating behaviors.

Working memory development from early childhood to adolescence using two nationally representative samples

We leveraged nationally representative data from the Panel study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement (N = 3,562) and the Early Childhood Longitudinal study (N = 18,174), to chart the development of working memory, indexed via verbal forward and backward digit span task performance, from 3 to 19 years of age. Results revealed nonlinear growth patterns for forward and backward digit span tasks, with the most rapid growth occurring during childhood followed by a brief accelerated period of growth during early adolescence. We also found similar developmental trajectories on digit span task performance for males and females across the U.S. population. Together, this study highlights the relative importance of the childhood period for working memory development and provides researchers with a reference against which to compare the developmental changes of working memory in individual studies. From a practical perspective, clinicians and educators can also use this information to understand important periods of working memory growth using national developmental trends. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Adhering to COVID-19 health guidelines: A behavioral-failure perspective

The mitigation of pandemics like that caused by the current COVID-19 virus is largely dependent on voluntary public adherence to government rules and regulations. Recent research has identified various individual covariates that account for some of the variance in compliance with COVID-19 behavioral guidelines. However, despite considerable research, our understanding of how and why these factors are related to adherence behavior is limited. Additionally, it is less clear whether disease-transmitting behaviors during a pandemic can be understood in terms of more general behavioral tendencies. The current research has examined the utility of a behavioral-failure lens in predicting adherence to COVID-19 guidelines and in illuminating mechanisms underlying the previously established relationship between Conscientiousness and adherence. In the two studies reported here, individual variations in the predisposition to behavioral failures predicted adherence to COVID-19 measures, and mediated the relationships between Conscientiousness and adherence. The Failure Proneness (FP) questionnaire predicted compliance with COVID-19 guidelines, while the Cognitive Failure Questionnaire (CFQ) did not. The results of hierarchical regressions showed that COVID-19 behavior was predicted only through the intentional factors (and mainly by Noncompliance-Violations). Hence, our data lend support to the notion that noncompliance with official COVID-19 prevention guidelines is driven mainly by intentional factors related to violation of norms and rules. The theoretical and practical implications of this finding are discussed.

The role of attention control in complex real-world tasks

Working memory capacity is an important psychological construct, and many real-world phenomena are strongly associated with individual differences in working memory functioning. Although working memory and attention are intertwined, several studies have recently shown that individual differences in the general ability to control attention is more strongly predictive of human behavior than working memory capacity. In this review, we argue that researchers would therefore generally be better suited to studying the role of attention control rather than memory-based abilities in explaining real-world behavior and performance in humans. The review begins with a discussion of relevant literature on the nature and measurement of both working memory capacity and attention control, including recent developments in the study of individual differences of attention control. We then selectively review existing literature on the role of both working memory and attention in various applied settings and explain, in each case, why a switch in emphasis to attention control is warranted. Topics covered include psychological testing, cognitive training, education, sports, police decision-making, human factors, and disorders within clinical psychology. The review concludes with general recommendations and best practices for researchers interested in conducting studies of individual differences in attention control.

I Think I Should Get Vaccinated, I Feel I Should Not. Individual Differences in Information Processing and Vaccination Behavior (COVID-19)

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community responded promptly by developing effective vaccines. Still, even though effective vaccines against COVID-19 became available, many people did not seem to be in a rush to become immunized. Community protection can be enhanced if more people decide to vaccinate, and thus it is necessary to identify relevant factors involved in vaccination behavior to find better ways of encouraging it. Vaccination behavior is the result of a decision process that might vary according to individual differences in information processing. We investigated the role of cognitive reflection ability and thinking styles in predicting self-reported vaccination behavior against COVID-19. A sample of 274 Romanian participants was surveyed for the present study, out of which 217 (M_age = 24.58, SD = 8.31; 53% female) declared they had the possibility to become vaccinated. Results showed that a higher level of cognitive reflection ability significantly increased the odds of becoming vaccinated. A rational thinking style was not linked to vaccination behavior. However, an experiential thinking style indirectly predicted vaccination behavior by means of attitudes towards vaccination. Since individual differences in information processing are, to a certain extent, linked to vaccination behavior, the design of vaccination campaigns could consider that people have specific information needs and address them as such.

Effects of the information-driven awareness on epidemic spreading on multiplex networks

In this study, we examine the impact of information-driven awareness on the spread of an epidemic from the perspective of resource allocation by comprehensively considering a series of realistic scenarios. A coupled awareness-resource-epidemic model on top of multiplex networks is proposed, and a Microscopic Markov Chain Approach is adopted to study the complex interplay among the processes. Through theoretical analysis, the infection density of the epidemic is predicted precisely, and an approximate epidemic threshold is derived. Combining both numerical calculations and extensive Monte Carlo simulations, the following conclusions are obtained. First, during a pandemic, the more active the resource support between individuals, the more effectively the disease can be controlled; that is, there is a smaller infection density and a larger epidemic threshold. Second, the disease can be better suppressed when individuals with small degrees are preferentially protected. In addition, there is a critical parameter of contact preference at which the effectiveness of disease control is the worst. Third, the inter-layer degree correlation has a "double-edged sword" effect on spreading dynamics. In other words, when there is a relatively lower infection rate, the epidemic threshold can be raised by increasing the positive correlation. By contrast, the infection density can be reduced by increasing the negative correlation. Finally, the infection density decreases when raising the relative weight of the global information, which indicates that global information about the epidemic state is more efficient for disease control than local information.

Assessing Interpersonal Proximity Evaluation in the COVID-19 Era: Evidence From the Affective Priming Task

Social proximity has since ever been evaluated as positive. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically reduced our social relations to avoid spreading the contagion. The present study aims to investigate people's current assessment of social proximity by using an affective priming paradigm (APP). We hypothesized that if our evaluation of social proximity is positive, then words with positive valence (e.g., relaxed) should be processed faster when preceded by images of social proximity than social distancing. On the contrary, if our evaluation of social proximity is turning negative, then words with a negative valence (e.g., sad) should be processed faster when preceded by images of social proximity than social distancing. To this end, we presented participants with prime images showing line drawings representing humans in situations of proximity or distancing and asked them to evaluate the valence (i.e., positive or negative) of a subsequent target word. In a follow-up session, the same participants evaluated the prime images as being positively or negatively valenced. Results showed that a large subset of participants who rated the prime images of social proximity as positive also processed positive words faster when these were preceded by images of social proximity than social distancing. Conversely, a smaller subset of participants who rated the prime images of social proximity as less positive processed negative words faster when these were preceded by images of social proximity than social distancing. These results suggest individual differences in the assessment of social proximity likely driven by the pandemic.

Impact of active and latent concerns about COVID-19 on attention

The interactions between emotion and attention are complex due to the multifaceted nature of attention. Adding to this complexity, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the emotional landscape, broadly heightening health and financial concerns. Can the heightened concerns about COVID-19 impair one or more of the components of attention? To explore the connection between heightened concerns about COVID-19 and attention, in a preregistered study, we collected survey responses from 234 participants assessing levels of concerns surrounding COVID-19, followed by four psychophysics tasks hypothesized to tap into different aspects of attention: visual search, working memory, sustained attention, and cognitive control. We also measured task-unrelated thoughts. Results showed that task-unrelated thoughts, but not survey reports of concern levels, negatively correlated with sustained attention and cognitive control, while visual search and working memory remained robust to task-unrelated thoughts and survey-indicated concern levels. As a whole, these findings suggest that being concerned about COVID-19 does not interfere with cognitive function unless the concerns are active in the form of task-unrelated thoughts.

Re-examining the relationship between interpersonal reactivity index sub-scales and mental well-being: Implications of the pandemic

The pandemic has severely impacted people's Mental Well-being (MWB) globally. Pre-pandemic studies have widely linked MWB with empathy. Against the backdrop of pandemic, we intend to re-examine this association between empathy, as widely measured by the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) sub-scales: perspective taking, empathic concerns, and personal distress with MWB. For this, a survey using a non-experimental research design was carried out during the 2020 lockdown. We used the Structural Equation Modeling approach to analyse the data. All the standardized scales have been tested for unidimensionality, reliability, and validity. We also resort to a self-administered questionnaire consisting of questions related to day-to-day activities to support the empirical findings. Results demonstrate a positive relationship between perspective taking and empathic concern with MWB and a negative relationship between personal distress and MWB. The response to the self-administered questionnaire corroborates with our model results and presents the scope of interpreting the findings. In continuation, limitations, contributions, and future scope conclude this essay.

Psychological Coping and Behavioral Adjustment Among Older Adults in Times of COVID-19: Exploring the Protective Role of Working Memory and Habit Propensity

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, well-being, and behavior is likely influenced by individual characteristics that determine one’s capacity for resilience. In this exploratory study, we examined whether individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity and habit propensity (HP), measured before the outbreak, could predict variation in subsequent psychological coping efficacy (as operationalized by measures of depression, mental well-being, perceived stress, and loneliness) and behavioral adjustment (by evaluating compliance and self-reported automaticity of four COVID-19 guidelines) among Dutch older adults (n = 36) during the pandemic (measured April 25 to May 6, 2020). While we found elevated levels of depression and emotional loneliness, overall mental well-being, and perceived stress were not affected by the pandemic. Contrary to our expectations, we found no robust evidence for a protective role of WM in predicting these outcomes, although our findings hint at a positive relationship with perceived change in mental well-being. Interestingly, WM and HP were found to affect the self-reported automaticity levels of adherence to behavioral COVID-19 guidelines (i.e., washing hands, physical distancing), where a strong HP appeared beneficial when deliberate resources were less available (e.g., low WM capacity). These novel and preliminary findings offer new potential avenues for investigating individual differences in resilience in times of major life events or challenges.

The effect of habit on preventive behaviors: a two-wave longitudinal study to predict COVID-19 preventive behaviors

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic is a continuing global threat. This study examined the effect of habit on the motivational aspects of COVID-19 preventive behaviors using a dual-motivation model, which hypothesizes that intentional and reactive motivations determine behavior. This study assumes that habit influences behaviors through the antecedents of the model and the interaction effects of intentional motivation × habit and reactive motivation × habit.

Design: This study conducted a longitudinal survey of 300 Japanese participants to predict preventive behaviors two weeks after the first survey. Moreover, it measured past and future COVID-19 self-reported preventive behaviors, attitudes, behavioral intentions, behavioral willingness, subjective and descriptive norms, self-efficacy, behavioral controls, and habits.

Results: The results showed the interaction effects of behavioral intention × habit and behavioral willingness × habit on preventive behaviors in addition to the effect of past behavior. The stronger the effect of habit, the stronger is the effect of behavioral intention and the weaker the effect of behavioral willingness.

Conclusion: The habituation of preventive behaviors strengthens the behavioral intention–behavior consistency. This study suggested that habit is an important factor for overcoming psychological barriers and for establishing preventive behaviors in daily life.

Perceived Exertion during Moderate and Vigorous Physical Activity While Mask Wearing: A Quantitative and Qualitative Pilot Study

There is limited research examining the perception of exertion during exercise while wearing a facemask. The current study examined if mask usage during moderate or vigorous physical activity (MVPA) changed the self-reported perception of exertion. Seventy-two adults (18 years and older) who were physically active before the COVID-19 pandemic completed a questionnaire that assessed exercise habits and perceptions of mask wearing during MVPA. Participants reported their ratings of perceived exertion (RPE, on a scale of 1−10) while exercising. Wearing a mask resulted in higher RPE vs. no mask during both vigorous (8.4 ± 0.2 vs. 7.4 ± 0.1; p < 0.001) and moderate PA (6.6 ± 0.2 vs. 5.6 ± 0.2; p < 0.001). Qualitative analysis revealed mostly negative perceptions of exercising while wearing a mask, including respiratory issues, detriments to cardiovascular endurance, and general discomfort. A total of 40% of participants reported that they stopped exercising in an indoor/public setting because of a mask mandate in their region. Participants reported participating in less vigorous PA (4.7 ± 0.4 vs. 4.0 ± 0.4 h/week; p = 0.046), but not less moderate PA (3.3 ± 0.3 vs. 3.0 ± 0.3 h/week; p = 0.443) pre vs. during the pandemic. Our study suggests that facemask usage during MVPA causes an increase in RPE and may be one reason for a decrease in vigorous PA during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cognitive underpinnings of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy

RATIONALE

Vaccines save lives. Despite the undisputed value of vaccination, vaccine hesitancy continues to be a major global challenge, particularly throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic. Since vaccination decisions are counter-intuitive and cognitively demanding, we propose that vaccine hesitancy is associated with executive function-a group of high-level cognitive skills including attentional control, working memory, inhibition, self-regulation, cognitive flexibility, and strategic planning.

OBJECTIVE

We set out to test (i) whether vaccine hesitancy is driven by individual differences in executive function beyond established socio-demographic factors (e.g., education, political orientation, gender, ethnicity, age, religiosity) and depressed mood, and (ii) whether this relationship is exacerbated by situational stress.

METHODS

Two studies were conducted with U.S. residents. Using a cross-sectional design, Study 1 examined the associations between executive function, socio-demographic factors, COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, trust in health authorities, and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Using an experimental design, Study 2 focused solely on unvaccinated individuals and tested the interactive effect of executive function and stress on willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. We used ordinal logistic regressions to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Individual differences in executive function predicted participants' COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, trust in health authorities, and their willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19. Importantly, the unique contribution of executive function to vaccine hesitancy could not be explained by socio-demographic factors or depressed mood. Furthermore, Study 2 revealed that weaker executive function had detrimental effects on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and trust in health authorities mainly under heightened stress.

CONCLUSIONS

Individual differences in executive function and situational stress jointly impact COVID-19 vaccination decisions and need to be considered together when designing health communications aimed at reducing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Interventions that lower stress and promote trust have the potential to increase vaccine acceptance, especially for individuals with weaker executive function.

The Influence of Emotional Framing and Graph Complexity on Biases in Graphical Memory for COVID-19 Data in a Lifespan Sample

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is one of the biggest recent threats to public health. People rely on news for up-to-date information during such major events, but news is often emotional in nature, which can affect how we learn and remember information. Additionally, graphs are widely used in news, but comprehension and memory for graphical information can be influenced by various factors, including emotions. We tested how the emotional framing of news would affect graphical memory across the lifespan. Participants studied a graph showing the number of weekly or daily new COVID-19 deaths after reading COVID-19 news framed as more positive or negative. Participants also reported their attitudes toward the pandemic, political leaning, news consumption habits, mood, and need for cognition. There was no overall difference in memory across conditions or age, but memory was more biased by the emotional framing of the news when the graphs were less visually complex. A number of exploratory correlations are also discussed. The findings indicate that framing news with a more positive or negative lens can bias understanding of and memory for related graphical information in some cases and can have implications for improving media literacy and public health compliance.

Anticipating Greater Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Social Life Is Associated With Reduced Adherence to Disease-Mitigating Guidelines

People regularly make decisions about how often and with whom to interact. During an epidemic of communicable disease, these decisions gain new weight, as individual choices exert more direct influence on collective health and wellbeing. While much attention has been paid to how people’s concerns about the health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic affect their engagement in behaviors that could curb (or accelerate) the spread of the disease, less is understood about how people’s concerns about the pandemic’s impact on their social lives affect these outcomes. Across three studies (total N = 654), we find that individuals’ estimates of the pandemic’s social (vs. health) impact are associated with an unwillingness to curtail social interaction and follow other Centers for Disease Control guidelines as the pandemic spreads. First, these associations are present in self-report data of participants’ own behaviors and behavior across hypothetical scenarios; second, participants’ estimates of the pandemic’s impact on social life in their location of residence are associated with movement data collected unobtrusively from mobile phones in those locations. We suggest that perceptions of social impact could be a potential mechanism underlying, and therefore potential intervention target for addressing, disease-preventing behavior during a pandemic.

Viruses, Vaccines, and COVID-19: Explaining and Improving Risky Decision-making

Risky decision-making lies at the center of the COVID-19 pandemic and will determine future viral outbreaks. Therefore, a critical evaluation of major explanations of such decision-making is of acute practical importance. We review the underlying mechanisms and predictions offered by expectancy-value and dual-process theories. We then highlight how fuzzy-trace theory builds on these approaches and provides further insight into how knowledge, emotions, values, and metacognitive inhibition influence risky decision-making through its unique mental representational architecture (i.e., parallel verbatim and gist representations of information). We discuss how social values relate to decision-making according to fuzzy-trace theory, including how categorical gist representations cue core values. Although gist often supports health-promoting behaviors such as vaccination, social distancing, and mask-wearing, why this is not always the case as with status-quo gist is explained, and suggestions are offered for how to overcome the "battle for the gist" as it plays out in social media.

Economic insecurity and compliance to the COVID‐19 restrictions

The present research investigates economic insecurity as one potential determinant of citizens' compliance with restrictive policies implemented to combat the spread of the COVID‐19 virus. Two pre‐registered studies (N_{Study 1} = 305; N_{Study 2} = 175) were conducted in France during the second and the third wave of the pandemic to test correlational (Study 1) and causal (Study 2) links between economic insecurity, perceived constraints, and transgressions (self‐reported, Study 1; intended, Study 2). We hypothesized that the effect of economic insecurity is particularly strong for restrictions involving social affiliations (e.g., not meeting with friends and families). Results indicated that economic insecurity indeed increases perceived constraints and the tendency to transgress but for all types of restrictions (involving social affiliation or not). We propose that economic insecurity poses a threat to individuals' self‐agency, which triggers psychological reactance to any form of restrictions on individual freedom.

The impact of pandemic-related worry on cognitive functioning and risk-taking

Here, we sought to quantify the effects of experienced fear and worry, engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic, on both cognitive abilities-speed of information processing, task-set shifting, and proactive control-as well as economic risk-taking. Leveraging a repeated-measures cross-sectional design, we examined the performance of 1517 participants, collected during the early phase of the pandemic in the US (April-June 2020), finding that self-reported pandemic-related worry predicted deficits in information processing speed and maintenance of goal-related contextual information. In a classic economic risk-taking task, we observed that worried individuals' choices were more sensitive to the described outcome probabilities of risky actions. Overall, these results elucidate the cognitive consequences of a large-scale, unpredictable, and uncontrollable stressor, which may in turn play an important role in individuals' understanding of, and adherence to safety directives both in the current crisis and future public health emergencies.

Personality in a pandemic: Social norms moderate associations between personality and social distancing behaviors

To limit the transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), it is important to understand the sources of social behavior for members of the general public. However, there is limited research on how basic psychological dispositions interact with social contexts to shape behaviors that help mitigate contagion risk, such as social distancing. Using a sample of 89,305 individuals from 39 countries, we show that Big Five personality traits and the social context jointly shape citizens' social distancing during the pandemic. Specifically, we observed that the association between personality traits and social distancing behaviors were attenuated as the perceived societal consensus for social distancing increased. This held even after controlling for objective features of the environment such as the level of government restrictions in place, demonstrating the importance of subjective perceptions of local norms.

Personality and early susceptibility to COVID-19 in the United Kingdom

This paper takes advantage of a unique dataset with a prospectively longitudinal, nationally representative sample (n = 5,178) that began in 1958 and has information on COVID-19 health status in 2020 to examine the effect of Big Five personality traits on compliance with social distancing requirements and contraction of COVID-19. The results show some consistency with epidemiological recommendations (Conscientious individuals were more likely to maintain social distance and less likely to contract COVID-19; men were less likely to comply and more likely to contract) but more inconsistency (Agreeable individuals were more likely to comply with social distancing requirements yet more likely to contract COVID-19; Open and Neurotic individuals were no less likely to comply yet more likely to contract COVID-19). The results highlight the importance of Big Five personality factors for behaviour in the global pandemic and may call into question the universal effectiveness of social distancing requirements for all individuals. However, the small number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 during the early months of the pandemic requires caution in interpretation of the results. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Social-distancing fatigue: Evidence from real-time crowd-sourced traffic data

INTRODUCTION

To mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent overwhelming the healthcare system, social-distancing policies such as school closure, stay-at-home orders, and indoor dining closure have been utilized worldwide. These policies function by reducing the rate of close contact within populations and result in decreased human mobility. Adherence to social distancing can substantially reduce disease spread. Thus, quantifying human mobility and social-distancing compliance, especially at high temporal resolution, can provide great insight into the impact of social distancing policies.

METHODS

We used the movement of individuals around New York City (NYC), measured via traffic levels, as a proxy for human mobility and the impact of social-distancing policies (i.e., work from home policies, school closure, indoor dining closure etc.). By data mining Google traffic in real-time, and applying image processing, we derived high resolution time series of traffic in NYC. We used time series decomposition and generalized additive models to quantify changes in rush hour/non-rush hour, and weekday/weekend traffic, pre-pandemic and following the roll-out of multiple social distancing interventions.

RESULTS

Mobility decreased sharply on March 14, 2020 following declaration of the pandemic. However, levels began rebounding by approximately April 13, almost 2 months before stay-at-home orders were lifted, indicating premature increase in mobility, which we term social-distancing fatigue. We also observed large impacts on diurnal traffic congestion, such that the pre-pandemic bi-modal weekday congestion representing morning and evening rush hour was dramatically altered. By September, traffic congestion rebounded to approximately 75% of pre-pandemic levels.

CONCLUSION

Using crowd-sourced traffic congestion data, we described changes in mobility in Manhattan, NYC, during the COVID-19 pandemic. These data can be used to inform human mobility changes during the current pandemic, in planning for responses to future pandemics, and in understanding the potential impact of large-scale traffic interventions such as congestion pricing policies.

Prevalence of COVID 19 Positive Cases Presenting to a Psychiatric Emergency Room

To explore the prevalence of SARS-CoV2 infection in the psychiatric emergency room setting. A Cross-sectional retrospective chart review was used to determine the point-prevalence of SARS-CoV2 infection and the characteristics of those infected. Of the patients tested for SARS-CoV2, 23/1057 (2.2%) were positive. Most of these patients were homeless (living on the street) or came from congregate living settings. The high percentage of SARS-CoV2 positive psychiatric patients coming from congregate living settings stresses the importance of asymptomatic screening in this vulnerable population.

(Mis)information and anxiety: Evidence from a randomized Covid-19 information campaign

Dispelling misinformation during crises is critical to public health. But information can also induce distress. We ask whether the mode of information delivery affects mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic. We randomized Indian migrant workers to receive Covid-19-related information through text messages, a pre-recorded audio message, or live phone calls. Phone calls increased knowledge among individuals without smartphones and reduced depression and anxiety overall. The amount of information delivered explains gains in knowledge but not improvements in mental health. Governments should consider broadcasts through live phone calls given their mental health benefits.

Coronavirus Disease 2019-Related Stigma in China: A Descriptive Study

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) tremendously impacts the physical and mental health of humans worldwide. Consequently, studies on COVID-19 remain extensive. However, most of them were mainly focused on the pathological mechanisms and treatment methods from medical perspectives. Various reports have indicated that COVID-19 is closely related to stigma and discrimination, but little statistical information has been integrated quantitatively to describe the situation in China. Thus, this study investigated the COVID-19-related stigma of individuals. We collected the online survey data from 1,920 Chinese participants from October to December 2020. Findings showed that 306 (15.94%), 285 (14.84%), 265 (13.80%), and 100 (5.21%) participants endorsed stigma toward individuals in high-risk areas, recovered patients with COVID-19, families of recovered patients with COVID-19, and frontline healthcare providers, respectively. To understand the possible factors that could impact the COVID-19-related stigma, knowledge about COVID-19 was investigated. Generally, knowledge about COVID-19 was negatively associated with COVID-19-related stigma in general, while no significant relationship existed between the knowledge about COVID-19 and the COVID-19-related stigma in the groups who had held COVID-19-related stigma. Ultimately, individuals showed COVID-19-related stigma toward recovered patients and their families, individuals in high-risk areas, and frontline healthcare providers to some extent. The results of this study can provide reference to nations, governments, and organizations in addressing the stigma issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dementia and COVID-19, a Bidirectional Liaison: Risk Factors, Biomarkers, and Optimal Health Care

Cognitive impairment following SARS-CoV-2 infection is being increasingly recognized as an acute and possibly also long-term sequela of the disease. Direct viral entry as well as systemic mechanisms such as cytokine storm are thought to contribute to neuroinflammation in these patients. Biomarkers of COVID-19-induced cognitive impairment are currently lacking, but there is some limited evidence that SARS-CoV-2 could preferentially target the frontal lobes, as suggested by behavioral and dysexecutive symptoms, fronto-temporal hypoperfusion on MRI, EEG slowing in frontal regions, and frontal hypometabolism on 18F-FDG-PET. Possible confounders include cognitive impairment due to hypoxia and mechanical ventilation and post-traumatic stress disorder. Conversely, patients already suffering from dementia, as well as their caregivers, have been greatly impacted by the disruption of their care caused by COVID-19. Patients with dementia have experienced worsening of cognitive, behavioral, and psychological symptoms, and the rate of COVID-19-related deaths is disproportionately high among cognitively impaired people. Multiple factors, such as difficulties in remembering and executing safeguarding procedures, age, comorbidities, residing in care homes, and poorer access to hospital standard of care play a role in the increased morbidity and mortality. Non-pharmacological interventions and new technologies have shown a potential for the management of patients with dementia, and for the support of their caregivers.

The influence of gain-loss framing and its interaction with political ideology on social distancing and mask wearing compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of cases and over half a million deaths in the United States. While health experts urge citizens to adopt preventative measures such as social distancing and wearing a mask, these recommended behaviors are not always followed by the public. To find a way to promote preventative measures, the present study examined the role of gain-loss framing of COVID-19 related messages on social distancing and mask wearing compliance. Moreover, the study also tested potential moderating effects on framing with three individual characteristics: political ideology, subjective numeracy, and risk attitude. A sample of 375 U.S. adult residents were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Each participant read either a gain or loss-framed message related to practicing protective behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants also completed scales of preventative behaviors, risk attitude, subjective numeracy, political ideology, and other demographic variables. It was found that those who were more liberal, risk-averse and had greater subjective numeracy were more likely to wear a mask and/or follow social distancing. Furthermore, in the presence of demographic and psychological factors, the study found participants in the loss-framed condition than in the gain-framed condition were more likely to adopt both preventative measures, supporting the notion of loss aversion. Additionally, the framing effect was also moderated by political ideology on mask-wearing, with the effect being stronger in liberals than in conservatives. Collectively, the study implies message framing may be a useful means to promote preventative measures in the current pandemic.

To comply or not comply? A latent profile analysis of behaviours and attitudes during the COVID-19 pandemic

How and why do people comply with protective behaviours during COVID-19? The emerging literature employs a variable-centered approach, typically using a narrow selection of constructs within a study. This study is the first to adopt a person-centred approach to identify complex patterns of compliance, and holistically examine underlying psychological differences, integrating multiple psychology paradigms and epidemiology. 1575 participants from Australia, US, UK, and Canada indicated their behaviours, attitudes, personality, cognitive/decision-making ability, resilience, adaptability, coping, political and cultural factors, and information consumption during the pandemic's first wave. Using Latent Profile Analysis, two broad groups were identified. The compliant group (90%) reported greater worries, and perceived protective measures as effective, whilst the non-compliant group (about 10%) perceived them as problematic. The non-compliant group were lower on agreeableness and cultural tightness-looseness, but more extraverted, and reactant. They utilised more maladaptive coping strategies, checked/trusted the news less, and used official sources less. Females showed greater compliance than males. By promoting greater appreciation of the complexity of behaviour during COVID-19, this research provides a critical platform to inform future studies, public health policy, and targeted behaviour change interventions during pandemics. The results also challenge age-related stereotypes and assumptions.

Verbal memory is associated with adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviors in community dwelling older adults

Background

Adherence to protective behaviors is central to limiting the spread of COVID-19 and associated risk of serious illness and mortality in older populations. Whether cognition predicts adherence to protective behaviors has not been examined in older adults.

Aims

To examine whether specific cognitive abilities predict adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviors in older adults, independent of other relevant factors.

Methods

Data from 431 older adults (i.e., ≥ 65 years) who took part in the COVID-19 module of the Health and Retirement Study were included in the present study. Separate binary logistic regression models were used to examine whether performance on measures of immediate and delayed recall and working memory predicted adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviors, controlling for demographics, level of COVID-19 concern, depressive symptoms, and medical conditions.

Results

For every unit increase in immediate and delayed recall, the probability of adhering to COVID-19 protective behaviors increased by 47% and 69%, respectively. There was no association between the measure of working memory and adherence.

Discussion

It is of public interest to understand the factors that reduce adherence to protective behaviors so that we can better protect those most vulnerable and limit community spread. Our findings demonstrate that reduced memory predicts non-adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviors, independent of virus concern, and other relevant demographic and health factors.

Conclusions

Public health strategies aimed at increasing adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviors in community dwelling older adults, should account for the role of reduced cognitive function in limiting adherence.

Your health vs. my liberty: Philosophical beliefs dominated reflection and identifiable victim effects when predicting public health recommendation compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic

In response to crises, people sometimes prioritize fewer specific identifiable victims over many unspecified statistical victims. How other factors can explain this bias remains unclear. So two experiments investigated how complying with public health recommendations during the COVID19 pandemic depended on victim portrayal, reflection, and philosophical beliefs (Total N = 998). Only one experiment found that messaging about individual victims increased compliance compared to messaging about statistical victims-i.e., "flatten the curve" graphs-an effect that was undetected after controlling for other factors. However, messaging about flu (vs. COVID19) indirectly reduced compliance by reducing perceived threat of the pandemic. Nevertheless, moral beliefs predicted compliance better than messaging and reflection in both experiments. The second experiment's additional measures revealed that religiosity, political preferences, and beliefs about science also predicted compliance. This suggests that flouting public health recommendations may be less about ineffective messaging or reasoning than philosophical differences.

How did individual differences in neurocognition and health literacy influence the initial uptake and use of health-related information about COVID-19?

Introduction: The rapid development of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) into a pandemic required people to quickly acquire, evaluate, and apply novel complex health-related information about the virus and transmission risks. This study examined the potentially unique and synergistic roles of individual differences in neurocognition and health literacy in the early uptake and use of COVID-19 public health information.Method: Data were collected between April 23 and 21 May 2020, a period during which 42 out of 50 states were under a stay-at-home order. Participants were 217 healthy adults who completed a telephone-based battery that included standard tests of neurocognition, health literacy, verbal IQ, personality, and anxiety. Participants also completed measures of COVID-19 information-seeking skills, knowledge, prevention intentions, and prevention behaviors.Results: A series of hierarchical multiple regressions with data-driven covariates showed that neurocognition (viz, episodic verbal memory and executive functions) was independently related to COVID-19 knowledge (e.g. symptoms, risks) at a medium effect size, but not to information-seeking skills, prevention intentions, or prevention behaviors. Health literacy was independently related to all measured aspects of COVID-19 health information and did not interact with neurocognition in any COVID-19 health domain.Conclusions: Individual differences in neurocognition and health literacy played independent and meaningful roles in the initial acquisition of knowledge related to COVID-19, which is a novel human health condition. Future studies might examine whether neurocognitive supports (e.g. spaced retrieval practice, elaboration) can improve COVID-19-related knowledge and health behaviors in vulnerable populations.

Sentiment Analysis on COVID-19-Related Social Distancing in Canada Using Twitter Data

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 preventive measures have been an obstacle to millions of people around the world, influencing not only their normal day-to-day activities but also affecting their mental health. Social distancing is one such preventive measure. People express their opinions freely through social media platforms like Twitter, which can be shared among other users. The articulated texts from Twitter can be analyzed to find the sentiments of the public concerning social distancing.

OBJECTIVE

To understand and analyze public sentiments towards social distancing as articulated in Twitter textual data.

METHODS

Twitter data specific to Canada and texts comprising social distancing keywords were extrapolated, followed by utilizing the SentiStrength tool to extricate sentiment polarity of tweet texts. Thereafter, the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm was employed for sentiment classification. Evaluation of performance was measured with a confusion matrix, precision, recall, and F1 measure.

RESULTS

This study resulted in the extraction of a total of 629 tweet texts, of which, 40% of tweets exhibited neutral sentiments, followed by 35% of tweets showed negative sentiments and only 25% of tweets expressed positive sentiments towards social distancing. The SVM algorithm was applied by dissecting the dataset into 80% training and 20% testing data. Performance evaluation resulted in an accuracy of 71%. Upon using tweet texts with only positive and negative sentiment polarity, the accuracy increased to 81%. It was observed that reducing test data by 10% increased the accuracy to 87%.

CONCLUSION

Results showed that an increase in training data increased the performance of the algorithm.

Biobehavioral Aspects of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review

OBJECTIVE

This review highlights the scope and significance of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with a focus on biobehavioral aspects and critical avenues for research.

METHODS

A narrative review of the published research literature was undertaken, highlighting major empirical findings emerging during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS

Interactions among biological, behavioral, and societal processes were prominent across all regions of the globe during the first year of the COVID-19 emergency. Affective, cognitive, behavioral, socioeconomic, and technological factors all played a significant role in the spread of infection, response precautions, and outcomes of mitigation efforts. Affective symptoms, suicidality, and cognitive dysfunction have been widely described consequences of the infection, the economic fallout, and the necessary public health mitigation measures themselves. The impact of COVID-19 may be especially serious for those living with severe mental illness and/or chronic medical diseases, given the confluence of several adverse factors in a manner that appears to have syndemic potential.

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear that biological and behavioral factors interact with societal processes in the infectious disease context. Empirical research examining mechanistic pathways from infection and recovery to immunological, behavioral, and emotional outcomes is critical. Examination of how emotional and behavioral factors relate to the pandemic-both as causes and as effects-can provide valuable insights that can improve management of the current pandemic and future pandemics to come.