Abstract
Identifying the underlying psychological and social factors of social distancing is crucial to foster preventive behavior during a pandemic effectively. We investigated the relative contribution of self-focused factors (fear of infection, fear of punishment) and other-focused factors (moral judgment, moral identity, empathy for unspecific others, empathy for loved ones) in an online study in Germany (N = 246) while COVID-19 was climaxing. Importantly, other-oriented factors were related to social distancing behavior beyond self-oriented factors. Moral judgment and empathy for loved ones remained the dominant factors while controlling for all aspects. These findings underline the relevance of interpersonal considerations when engaging in preventive behavior.
Highlights
The pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a worldwide health threat and causes major changes in everyday life (Blom et al, 2020; Windsteiger et al, 2020)
People with a strong internalization seem to have a wider “circle of moral regard.”. Based on their relevance for other-oriented behavior, moral identity and moral judgment are two factors that we investigated in the context of social distancing
The current study aimed to investigate the relative contribution of psychological and social factors that are associated with social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
The pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a worldwide health threat and causes major changes in everyday life (Blom et al, 2020; Windsteiger et al, 2020). Social distancing means keeping physical distance from others, including family and loved ones This seemingly easy method seems rational in the current situation. Many countries forbade gatherings of two or more people from different households (Robert Koch Institute, 2020; World Health Organization, 2020). Violating these rules in Germany could have led to a fee of 150€ or more (e.g. Bayerische Staatskanzlei, 2020). Several researchers identified fear of an infection as a key predictor of social distancing (Harper et al, 2020; Lin et al, 2018) Considering such selffocused motives during a pandemic is important to effectively target citizens’ motivation to adhere to preventive behaviors. In times of a pandemic, social distancing can be regarded as prosocial behavior
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