Is intergroup discrimination triggered by vaccination status? Exploring some social aspects of vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT The pandemic has affected social relations in many ways, and even created new social groups through vaccination. The goal of this study was to explore whether intergroup discrimination regarding vaccination status can be observed in a resource allocation task. Participants (N = 818; Mage = 46.0 years) completed a resource allocation task. Results showed that the better-than-average effect was widespread among the participants as most of them perceived themselves more informed about the pandemic than others. The resource allocation task showed participants preferred to create maximum difference in favor of their group in intergroup situations, but decisions were fairer when targets’ group membership was identical. Moreover, vaccinated people were more likely to use maximum difference strategies than non-vaccinated people. The results revealed that vaccination status changes the perception of intergroup situations, which may be important in planning future strategies to handle mass emergencies similar to the current pandemic.