Protect Others to Protect Myself: A Weakness of Western Countries in the Face of Current and Future Pandemics? Psychological and Neuroscientific Perspectives

Predictors and motives for mask-wearing behavior and vaccination intention

Containing a pandemic requires that individuals adhere to measures such as wearing face-masks and getting vaccinated. Therefore, identifying predictors and motives for both behaviors is of importance. Here, we study the decisions made by a cross-national sample in randomized hypothetical scenarios during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results show that mask-wearing was predicted by empathic tendencies, germ aversion, and higher age, whilst belief in misinformation and presentation of an interaction partner as a family member lowered the safety standards. The main motives associated with taking the mask off included: rationalization, facilitating interaction, and comfort. Vaccination intention was positively predicted by empathy, and negatively predicted by belief in misinformation and higher costs of the vaccine. We found no effect of immunization status of the surrounding social group. The most common motive for vaccination was protection of oneself and others, whereas undecided and anti-vaccine groups reported doubts about the effectiveness and fear of side effects. Together, we identify social and psychological predictors and motives of mask-wearing behavior and vaccination intention. The results highlight the importance of social context for mask-wearing, easy access to vaccines, empathy, and trust in publicly distributed information.

Well-being and experiences of adults in German federal states under pandemic conditions

Research on people's experiences during the Covid-19-pandemic provides growing evidence on subjective well-being and distress under pandemic conditions, however mainly at a country, not state level. The relationship between positive and negative experiences is described in Diener's conceptualization of subjective well-being. We assumed that people who experience well-being and positive affect through connectedness with nature, and social support during the pandemic feel relatively less alone, distressed, depressed, self-focused, and thoughtless. We further assumed changes in these constructs during the pandemic. The aim of this research was to examine the concurrent relationships between these positive and negative experiences of German adults simultaneously as well as their changes over 3 weeks in 2020. Owing to German federalism, we expected these changes to differ between German states. A sample of 1,038 adults responded to an online questionnaire twice (April and May 2020). A structural equation model including 16 factors and 12 covariates yielded the expected negative relationships and different mild change effects between the German states. For example, adults' connectedness with nature increased while loneliness and distress decreased in Saxony, whereas thoughtlessness increased in Bavaria. The results imply a new finding that different changes in adults' positive and negative experiences during the pandemic exist.