James Cook University, Singapore.
Omega (Westport). 2024 Aug;89(3):1162-1175. doi: 10.1177/00302228221092583. Epub 2022 Apr 20.
The current study aimed to address the limitations of the terror management theory literature by using big data analysis to examine the theory's predictions in the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, Google Trends were examined before and after the first COVID-19 case was identified in Singapore. The results showed that there was a significant increase in mortality salience, intergroup conflict, and prosocial behavior, and a significant decrease in materialism after the first COVID-19 case was identified. However, no significant differences were found for anxiety. Limitations include the assumption that search terms reflect intentions that would eventually lead to a relevant behavior and the lack of data from other sources to corroborate with the results from Google Trends. Future research could use data from other sources to examine the effects of COVID-19 on theoretically relevant behaviors.
本研究旨在通过大数据分析来检验恐怖管理理论在 COVID-19 大流行中的预测，从而解决该理论文献的局限性。具体来说，我们在新加坡首例 COVID-19 病例确诊前后，使用谷歌趋势（Google Trends）进行了检查。结果表明，首例 COVID-19 病例确诊后，死亡意识、群体间冲突和亲社会行为显著增加，而物质主义显著减少。然而，焦虑并没有显著差异。局限性包括假设搜索词反映了最终会导致相关行为的意图，以及缺乏来自其他来源的数据来佐证谷歌趋势的结果。未来的研究可以使用其他来源的数据来检验 COVID-19 对理论上相关行为的影响。
