Mass Information Requests during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Psychological Determinants and Specific Features

Abstract

The present research featured on-line behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the situation escalated, the number of information requests related to the pandemic decreased, and the content characteristics of search queries became relatively independent from official statements of the Russian government. Early in the epidemic, the content of mass search queries shifted towards positive information as a result of the counter-regulation effect, which required the introduction of personal and situational predictors into the analysis. The main stage of the research revealed an obvious personal / collective dichotomy and the ambivalent nature of risk assessment, responsibility attribution, and subjective control. COVID-19 patients and healthy users demonstrated little difference in the on-line search behavior; however, the difference in their current affective state was quite significant. The problem-oriented strategies of proactive coping (reflexive, strategic, and preventive coping) were connected with emotional preferences in information search, while personal involvement was one of awareness parameters.