Hein Grit, Gamer Matthias, Gall Dominik, Gründahl Marthe, Domschke Katharina, Andreatta Marta, Wieser Matthias J, Pauli Paul
Translational Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Germany.
Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Germany.
Prev Med Rep. 2021 Dec;24:101559. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101559. Epub 2021 Sep 16.
Emotion-motivation models propose that behaviors, including health behaviors, should be predicted by the same variables that also predict negative affect since emotional reactions should induce a motivation to avoid threatening situations. In contrast, social cognitive models propose that safety behaviors are predicted by a different set of variables that mainly reflect cognitive and socio-structural aspects. Here, we directly tested these opposing hypotheses in young adults ( = 4134) in the context of COVID-19-related safety behaviors to prevent infections. In each participant, we collected measures of negative affect as well as cognitive and socio-structural variables during the lockdown in the first infection wave in Germany. We found a negative effect of the pandemic on emotional responses. However, this was not the main predictor for young adults' willingness to comply with COVID-19-related safety measures. Instead, individual differences in compliance were mainly predicted by cognitive and socio-structural variables. These results were confirmed in an independent data set. This study shows that individuals scoring high on negative affect during the pandemic are not necessarily more likely to comply with safety regulations. Instead, political measures should focus on cognitive interventions and the societal relevance of the health issue. These findings provide important insights into the basis of health-related concerns and feelings as well as behavioral adaptations.
情绪-动机模型提出，包括健康行为在内的行为应该由那些同样能预测消极情绪的变量来预测，因为情绪反应应该会引发避免威胁情境的动机。相比之下，社会认知模型提出，安全行为是由另一组主要反映认知和社会结构方面的变量来预测的。在此，我们在与预防感染的新冠疫情相关安全行为的背景下，直接对这些相互对立的假设在年轻人（N = 4134）中进行了测试。在德国第一波感染高峰封锁期间，我们收集了每位参与者的消极情绪以及认知和社会结构变量的测量数据。我们发现疫情对情绪反应有负面影响。然而，这并不是年轻人遵守新冠疫情相关安全措施意愿的主要预测因素。相反，遵守情况的个体差异主要由认知和社会结构变量预测。这些结果在一个独立数据集中得到了证实。这项研究表明，在疫情期间消极情绪得分高的个体不一定更有可能遵守安全规定。相反，政策措施应侧重于认知干预以及健康问题的社会相关性。这些发现为与健康相关的担忧、感受以及行为适应的基础提供了重要见解。
