Risk Overgeneralization in Times of a Contagious Disease Threat

Lee, Spike W. S.; Huang, Julie Y.; Schwarz, Robert

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01392

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Despite a lower fatality rate than Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and Ebola, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has caused one of the highest death tolls worldwide, and there is still no vaccine available [ 25 ]. As the surges of confirmed COVID-19 cases continue to dominate US media attention, the salience and magnitude of the perceived threat is heightened.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergroup Contact, COVID-19 News Consumption, and the Moderating Role of Digital Media Trust on Prejudice Toward Asians in the United States: Cross-Sectional Study

Tsai¹,

Phua²,

Pan³

et al. 2020

J Med Internet Res

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Background The perceived threat of a contagious virus may lead people to be distrustful of immigrants and out-groups. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the salient politicized discourses of blaming Chinese people for spreading the virus have fueled over 2000 reports of anti-Asian racial incidents and hate crimes in the United States. Objective The study aims to investigate the relationships between news consumption, trust, intergroup contact, and prejudicial attitudes toward Asians and Asian Americans residing in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. We compare how traditional news, social media use, and biased news exposure cultivate racial attitudes, and the moderating role of media use and trust on prejudice against Asians is examined. Methods A cross-sectional study was completed in May 2020. A total of 430 US adults (mean age 36.75, SD 11.49 years; n=258, 60% male) participated in an online survey through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform. Respondents answered questions related to traditional news exposure, social media use, perceived trust, and their top three news channels for staying informed about the novel coronavirus. In addition, intergroup contact and racial attitudes toward Asians were assessed. We performed hierarchical regression analyses to test the associations. Moderation effects were estimated using simple slopes testing with a 95% bootstrap confidence interval approach. Results Participants who identified as conservatives (β=.08, P=.02), had a personal infection history (β=.10, P=.004), and interacted with Asian people frequently in their daily lives (β=.46, P<.001) reported more negative attitudes toward Asians after controlling for sociodemographic variables. Relying more on traditional news media (β=.08, P=.04) and higher levels of trust in social media (β=.13, P=.007) were positively associated with prejudice against Asians. In contrast, consuming news from left-leaning outlets (β=–.15, P=.001) and neutral outlets (β=–.13, P=.003) was linked to less prejudicial attitudes toward Asians. Among those who had high trust in social media, exposure had a negative relationship with prejudice. At high levels of trust in digital websites and apps, frequent use was related to less unfavorable attitudes toward Asians. Conclusions Experiencing racial prejudice among the Asian population during a challenging pandemic can cause poor psychological outcomes and exacerbate health disparities. The results suggest that conservative ideology, personal infection history, frequency of intergroup contact, traditional news exposure, and trust in social media emerge as positive predictors of prejudice against Asians and Asian Americans, whereas people who get COVID-19 news from left-leaning and balanced outlets show less prejudice. For those who have more trust in social media and digital news, frequent use of these two sources is associated with lower levels of prejudice. Our findings highlight the need to reshape traditional news discourses and use social media and mobile news apps to develop credible messages for combating racial prejudice against Asians.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergroup Contact, COVID-19 News Consumption, and the Moderating Role of Digital Media Trust on Prejudice Toward Asians in the United States: Cross-Sectional Study

Tsai¹,

Phua²,

Pan³

et al. 2020

J Med Internet Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Its character, such as infection and mortality rates, treatment options, long-term effects, was unknown. All of these reinforced the perception of its riskiness (Lee et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Its character, such as infection and mortality rates, treatment options, long-term effects, was unknown. All of these reinforced the perception of its riskiness (Lee et al, 2020). Furthermore, as we hypothesized, participants from southern Israel reported a higher degree of COVID-19-related anxiety and This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

Section: Exposure To Continuous Traumatic Stressmentioning

confidence: 76%

Psychological functioning during the COVID-19 lockdown: The role of exposure to continuous traumatic stress in conflict-ridden regions.

Amram-Vaknin¹,

Lipshits-Braziler²,

Tatar³

2022

Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology

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The present study investigates the role of two risk factors (exposure to continuous traumatic stress and unemployment) and two psychological stress-related factors (resilience and coping) on individuals’ emotional state during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. The data were collected using online questionnaire from 778 individuals in April 2020 during Israel’s first lockdown. Israeli citizens who had been exposed for many years to recurrent missile attacks (n = 379) reported higher rates of anxiety and stress following the COVID-19 lockdown and lower rates of resilience, compared with those residing in regions not exposed to missile attacks. During the lockdown, unemployed participants (n = 416), in comparison with working respondents, reported more depression and stress, lower resilience, and greater use of behavioral and mental disengagement coping strategies. The results showed that resilience (β = −.38, p < .001) is associated with lower depression, anxiety, and stress, whereas the more frequent use of disengagement coping (β = .31, p < .001) is associated with higher depression, anxiety, and stress. Furthermore, resilience was shown to moderate the association between disengagement coping and emotional state. Findings suggest that exposure to continuous traumatic stress and unemployment may comprise potential risk factors for psychological difficulties during COVID-19 lockdown, whereas resilience and applying less disengagement coping can be considered protective factors.

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“…This indicates that, faced with health threat like a pandemic, culture can impose "socially responsible behavior" (Schwartz and Melech, 2000, p. 236). In the present study, mobility behavior during an unexpected and unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic (Lee et al, 2020) may be motivated by the actions of passively compliant individuals compelled to follow the rules imposed by respected authorities or they may be more inclined to alter their behavior according to the suggestions of authorities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The Relationship Between Cultural Value Orientations and the Changes in Mobility During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A National-Level Analysis

Atalay

Solmazer

2021

Front. Psychol.

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This study investigated the relationship between cultural value orientations and country-specific changes in mobility during the Covid-19 pandemic. The aim was to understand how cultural values relate to mobility behavior during the initial stages of the pandemic. The aggregated data include Schwartz's cultural orientations, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, number of Covid-19 cases per million, and mobility change during the Covid-19 pandemic (Google Mobility Reports; percentage decrease in retail and recreation mobility, transit station mobility, workplace mobility and percentage mobility increase in residential areas). Regression analyses showed that, after controlling for economy and severity of disease, hierarchy was the primary factor reducing mobility, such as staying at home, and mobility in public spaces, such as avoiding retail and recreation sites (marginally significant). The results are discussed in the light of previous literature and the implications for social distancing measures.

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Risk Overgeneralization in Times of a Contagious Disease Threat

Cited by 10 publications

References 16 publications

Intergroup Contact, COVID-19 News Consumption, and the Moderating Role of Digital Media Trust on Prejudice Toward Asians in the United States: Cross-Sectional Study

Intergroup Contact, COVID-19 News Consumption, and the Moderating Role of Digital Media Trust on Prejudice Toward Asians in the United States: Cross-Sectional Study

Psychological functioning during the COVID-19 lockdown: The role of exposure to continuous traumatic stress in conflict-ridden regions.

The Relationship Between Cultural Value Orientations and the Changes in Mobility During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A National-Level Analysis

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