1. What factors underlie attitudes regarding protective mask use during the COVID-19 pandemic?
- Author
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E. Ashby Plant, Stephanie R. Mallinas, and Jon K. Maner
- Subjects
Younger age ,Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ,Health professionals ,media_common.quotation_subject ,05 social sciences ,Reactance ,COVID-19 ,050109 social psychology ,Empathy ,050105 experimental psychology ,Article ,Developmental psychology ,Biology and political orientation ,Health ,Attitudes ,Pandemic ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Psychology ,Political Conservatism ,General Psychology ,media_common - Abstract
Two studies examine psychological and demographic factors that predict attitudes toward mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic. These studies differentiate pro-mask from anti-mask attitudes. Political conservatism, younger age, and gender predicted anti-mask attitudes but were unrelated to pro-mask attitudes. Psychological reactance was associated with anti-mask attitudes, over and above demographic variables. Empathy, trust in healthcare professionals, and perceived normativity of mask wearing were associated with pro-mask attitudes, over and above demographic variables. These studies suggest that demographic variables such as political orientation and age are associated with anti-mask but not pro-mask attitudes, but also that psychological factors differentially predict anti- and pro-mask attitudes over and above demographic factors.
- Published
- 2021