COVID-19 infection induces higher trust in strangers

Effects of lockdowns in shaping socioeconomic behaviors

Lockdowns were implemented to reduce the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. However, it is unclear how severely curtailed physical interaction shapes individual behaviors that are considered vital for socioeconomic development. In this exploratory study, we investigate the behavior of college students who experienced a strict campus-wide lockdown and those who did not. Employing a combination of experimental and survey methodologies, we elicit students' behavioral variables, which are then integrated with administrative records from the university. We find that those exposed to the lockdown were more likely to trust others and be honest; however, their creativity was lower. Exposure to the lockdown was not found to significantly affect students' trustworthiness, risk preferences, or competitiveness. A follow-up study reveals that the lower creativity among students may be attributed to reduced communication frequency with friends during the lockdown, mediating the lockdown's impact. Conversely, the effects of the lockdown on trust and honesty may operate through a direct pathway, independent of changes in daily activities during the lockdown. Further analysis reveals a gender-dependent trend, with lockdowns exerting a more pronounced influence on male students than their female counterparts. These results underscore the consequences of lockdowns and advocate for enhanced support networks, emphasizing the importance of communicating with friends in similar circumstances.

Trust in Acquaintances, Strangers and Institutions among Individuals of Different Socioeconomic Statuses during Public Health Emergencies: The Moderation of Family Structure and Policy Perception

Trust plays a crucial role in effectively responding to public health emergencies. Drawing on COVID-19 survey data conducted in Hubei, China, during August 2020 with a sample size of 5494, this study investigated the influence of individuals' socioeconomic status on trust in acquaintances, strangers and institutions, and how this relationship is moderated by epidemic prevention, policy perception and family structure. The findings showed that individuals with higher socioeconomic status tend to have higher levels of trust. Those with higher income but being married demonstrate higher trust. When perceiving epidemic prevention policies as stringent, those with higher income display increased trust in acquaintances and institutions; similarly, those with lower education levels exhibit heightened trust in acquaintances and strangers. Individuals working in social organizations express higher trust in strangers; however, their trust is compromised under stringent epidemic prevention policies due to potentially heavier work burdens.

Assessing the effects of pandemic risk on cooperation and social norms using a before-after Covid-19 comparison in two long-term experiments

How does threat from disease shape our cooperative actions and the social norms that guide such behaviour? To study these questions, we draw on a collective-risk social dilemma experiment that we ran before the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic (Wave 1, 2018) and compare this to its exact replication, sampling from the same population, that we conducted during the first wave of the pandemic (Wave 2, 2020). Tightness-looseness theory predicts and evidence generally supports that both cooperation and accompanying social norms should increase, yet, we mostly did not find this. Contributions, the probability of reaching the threshold (cooperation), and the contents of the social norm (how much people should contribute) remained similar across the waves, although the strength of these social norms were slightly greater in Wave 2. We also study whether the results from Wave 1 that should not be affected by the pandemic-the relationship between social norms and cooperation and specific behavioural types-replicate in Wave 2 and find that these results generally hold. Overall, our work demonstrates that social norms are important drivers of cooperation, yet, communicable diseases, at least in the short term, have little or no effects on either.

Social and political trust diverge during a crisis

This study shows that social and political trust may diverge in the face of shared threats, and that this pattern is driven by negative information about crisis management. Leveraging a three-wave panel survey and an information-provision experiment in the USA during the COVID-19 crisis, our research reveals that negative perceptions of pandemic management lead to a decline in political trust and a parallel increase in social trust. This dynamic is pronounced among government supporters, who, confronted with COVID-19 challenges, experience a substantial erosion of political trust. Simultaneously, there is a notable rise in social trust within this group. Our analysis suggests that, as government supporters attributed more responsibility for the crisis to their political leader, political trust was supplanted by social trust. Disenchanted voters, feeling let down by institutions, sought support in society. Both the survey and the experiment underscore that societal shocks can prompt individuals to shift from relying on formal institutions to informal ones as a coping strategy. This research contributes a generalizable framework explaining how negative perceptions of crisis management can lead societies to substitute political trust with social trust, advancing our understanding of societal responses to shared threats and adaptive strategies during crises.

Adaptive Coping Strategies at the Time of COVID-19: The Role of Social and General Trust

Research in the field shows the crucial role of trust in the functioning of many aspects of social life, especially when dealing with emergencies. We report the results of a study (N = 883) carried out in Italy during the first phase of the COVID-19 crisis to assess whether and how social trust (i.e., trust in those who have the authority and responsibility for making decisions, such as the Italian government, the regional government, the Civil Protection, the European Union, the Catholic Church, and the scientific community) and general trust (i.e., trust in the trustworthiness of other individuals, such as Italians and humankind) are associated with the employment of coping strategies in dealing with the challenges of the pandemic. Overall, the results highlight that trust in different authorities and institutions and trust in other human beings are positively associated with the adoption of adaptive coping strategies such as seeking social support, positive reinterpretation and growth, problem-solving orientation, and transcendent orientation. In contrast, they are negatively related to the adoption of maladaptive coping strategies such as avoidance. These findings point out the benefits of various types of trust in helping individuals deal with crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Variation in Public Trust, Perceived Societal Fairness, and Well-Being before and after COVID-19 Onset-Evidence from the China Family Panel Studies

The sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on all aspects of people's lives, including their attitudes toward society and psychological well-being. This study aimed to analyze the variation in public trust, perceived societal fairness, and well-being before and after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study used two-wave longitudinal data of 15,487 residents (2018, T1; 2020, T2) derived from the Chinese Family Panel Studies (CFPS). A repeated measures analysis of variance showed that (a) public trust, perceived societal fairness, and subjective well-being significantly improved and (b) depression significantly increased. Linear regression analysis showed that education and socioeconomic status had a significant predictive effect on public trust, perceived societal fairness, and depression; socioeconomic status had a significant predictive effect on subjective well-being. This study provides evidence and direction for current social governance, namely, policy implementation and pandemic response.