At the beginning of the COVID‐19 pandemic, governments around the world employed militaristic metaphors to draw attention to the dangers of the virus. But, do militaristic metaphors truly affect individuals' perceived threat of the COVID‐19 virus and increase their support for corresponding restrictive policies? This study assessed the effects of fictitious newspaper articles that described COVID‐19 policies using similarly negatively valenced metaphors but with differing militaristic connotations (e.g., “war” vs. “struggle”). Overall, data from three framing experiments ( N = 1114) in Germany and the United States indicate limited evidence on the effectiveness of the tested militaristic metaphors. In the U.S. context, the non‐militaristic concept of struggle was consistently more strongly associated with the desired outcomes than militaristic metaphors were. In Studies 2 and 3, we also tested whether reporting using a narrative or straightforward facts had additional influence on the framing effect. A congruency effect of the use of a narrative and of warfare metaphors was found in the German sample, but not in that of the United States. Results of post‐experimental norming studies ( N = 437) in both countries revealed that the metaphor of war is associated with people ascribing greater responsibility to their governments, whereas the concept of struggle triggers a sense of individual responsibility. These results are discussed in terms of the usefulness and appropriateness of militaristic metaphors in the context of a pandemic.

We investigated linguistic factors that affect peoples’ trust in science and their commitment to follow evidence-based recommendations, crucial for limiting the spread of COVID-19. In an experiment ( N = 617), we examined whether complex (vs. simple) scientific statements on mask-wearing can decrease trust in information and its sources, and hinder adherence to behavioral measures. In line with former research on social exclusion through complex language, we also examined whether complexity effects are mediated via feelings of social exclusion. Results indicate that negative effects of text complexity were present, but only for participants with a strong conspiracy mentality. This finding informs how to increase trust in science among individuals with a high conspiracy mentality, a population commonly known for its skepticism towards scientific evidence.

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Vaccine shortage is still a major problem in many countries. But how does the vaccine shortage affect people’s willingness to be vaccinated? To test whether perceived scarcity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines has an impact on vaccination willingness, a preregistered online experiment with N = 175 non-vaccinated German participants was conducted during a period of national vaccine shortage. Perceived vaccine scarcity was manipulated by either telling participants that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in their district would be particularly scarce in the upcoming weeks or that above-average quantities would be available. The results show that individuals in the scarcity-condition were significantly more willing to get vaccinated than those in the surplus-condition. In addition, individuals in the scarcity-condition were found to express more anger towards the debate on relaxations for vaccinated versus non-vaccinated individuals. The results indicate that even superficial processes such as a perception of scarcity can influence people’s willingness to get vaccinated.

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