Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, USA.
Department of Social Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
J Pers. 2023 Dec;91(6):1442-1460. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12821. Epub 2023 Feb 16.
People value solitude for themselves. Yet little is known about how people perceive dispositional preference for solitude in others. Does dispositional preference for solitude represent a protective factor from psychological distress during times of social distancing? And do laypeople have accurate beliefs about the role of preference for solitude?
To answer these questions, we conducted four studies (three preregistered, N = 1418) at the early and a later stage of the COVID-19 pandemic using experimental, longitudinal, and experience sampling designs.
People expected targets with a higher solitude preference to be more resilient (e.g., less lonely, more satisfied with life) during social distancing, and consequently prioritize them less when allocating supportive resources for maintaining social connections (Studies 1 and 2). Compared to these beliefs, the actual difference between individuals with higher versus lower solitude preference was smaller (Study 2) or even negligible (Study 3). Did people form more calibrated beliefs two years into the pandemic? Study 4 suggested no.
Together, these studies show that people overestimate the role of preference for solitude in predicting others' psychological experience. As a result, solitude-seeking individuals may miss out on supportive resources, leading to higher risks for mental health issues.
人们重视独处。然而，人们对他人的性格偏好独处知之甚少。性格上偏好独处是否代表了在社交隔离期间免受心理困扰的保护因素？普通人对独处偏好的作用是否有准确的信念？
为了回答这些问题，我们在 COVID-19 大流行的早期和后期阶段使用实验、纵向和经验抽样设计进行了四项研究（三项预先注册，N=1418）。
人们期望具有较高独处偏好的目标人群在社交隔离期间更具弹性（例如，更不孤独，对生活更满意），因此在分配支持性资源以维持社交联系时，对他们的重视程度较低（研究 1 和 2）。与这些信念相比，具有较高和较低独处偏好的个体之间的实际差异较小（研究 2）或甚至可以忽略不计（研究 3）。两年后，人们会形成更准确的信念吗？研究 4 表明并非如此。
综上所述，这些研究表明，人们高估了独处偏好在预测他人心理体验方面的作用。因此，寻求独处的人可能会错过支持性资源，从而增加心理健康问题的风险。
