Rugged Individualism and Collective (In)action During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Bazzi, Samuel; Fiszbein, Martín; Gebresilasse, Mesay

doi:10.3386/w27776

Cited by 20 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(13 reference statements)

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“…In the case of individualism, research has demonstrated that individualist countries implement less stringent measures to combat COVID-19 (Rapson, 2021 ); therefore, undoubtedly leading to less behavioral modifications aimed at curbing the epidemic. Furthermore, according to Bazzi et al ( 2021 ), individualism can undermine prosocial behavior as it is linked to lesser mask usage and social distancing practices. As for indulgence, the hedonistic nature of indulgent cultures might hinder authorities ability to have their citizens respect measures aimed at curbing the COVID-19 crisis (Messner, 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Effect of Collective Cultural Attributes on Covid-19-Related Public Health Outcomes

Medeiros

2021

Front. Psychol.

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Infections and deaths associated with COVID-19 show a high degree of heterogeneity across different populations. A thorough understanding of population-level predictors of such outcomes is crucial for devising better-targeted and more appropriate public health preparedness measures. While demographic, economic, and health-system capacity have featured prominently in recent work, cultural, and behavioral characteristics have largely been overlooked. However, cultural differences shape both the public policy response and individuals' behavioral responses to the crisis in ways that can impact infection dynamics and key health outcomes. To address this gap, we used meta-analytic methods to explore the global variability of three public health outcomes (i.e., crude test positivity, case/infection fatality, and mortality risk) during the first wave of the pandemic. This set of analyses identified several cultural/behavioral attributes (e.g., uncertainty avoidance and long-term vs. short-term normative orientation) as independent predictors of public health outcomes after adjusting for key demographic, political, economic, and health-system-related predictors; which were robust in sensitivity analyses. In conclusion, this study clearly demonstrates that cultural attributes do in fact account for some of the global disparities in COVID-19-attributed health outcomes. As a consequence, policymakers should more explicitly consider a society's cultural attributes alongside other important parameters such as demographic characteristics and health system constraints in order to develop better tailored and more effective policy responses.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Effect of Collective Cultural Attributes on Covid-19-Related Public Health Outcomes

Medeiros

2021

Front. Psychol.

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“…Draconian measures should cater to realistic threat but noyt symbolic threat. If anything, in nations with individualistic orientation such as the United States, the use of such measures could conflict with group norms such as anti-statism (Bazzi et al, 2020). In contrast, the relationship between national identity certainty and outgroup conspiracy beliefs should be explained by perceived symbolic but not realistic threat.…”

Section: Covid-19 As Realistic and Symbolic Threatmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At very least, this disrupts the continuity of an identity (Jaspal & Nerlich, 2020). In some cases, social distancing may even clash with some national norms (e.g., individualism and anti-statism, Bazzi et al, 2020), leaving people uncertain about what defines their nation. In addition, COVID-19 has delivered a heavy blow on global and regional economy (Bartik et al, 2020;Carlsson-Szlezak et al, 2020) and consequently rendered the economic prospect of a nation uncertain.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Burden of Being Certain: National Identity Certainty Predicts Support for COVID-Related Draconian Measures and Outgroup Conspiracy Beliefs

Chen¹,

J²,

X³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced various controversies. Some people debate about the usage of “draconian” measures of social distancing (e.g., lockdown). Others concern the origin of the pandemic with some buying conspiracy theories that attribute the cause of COVID-19 to the plot of some powerful outgroups. The current research examined national identity certainty (i.e., the certainty people placed in national identity) as predictor of these beliefs and attitudes. Two studies (total N = 625), one longitudinal and one cross-sectional, revealed that individual differences in national identity certainty predicted increased support of draconian measures and increased outgroup conspiracy beliefs. Moreover, realistic (but not symbolic) threat accounted for the increased support for draconian measures. Symbolic (but not realistic) threat accounted for the increased outgroup conspiracy beliefs. Our findings highlight how national identity certainty constrains individuals’ beliefs and attitudes towards issues related to the pandemic.

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“…We first address the parallels between sex education and the response to the pandemic by discussing the rugged individualism prized in the United States—a way of relating to self and others that has deep connections to U.S. history, masculinity, and capitalism [ 5 ]. Individualism constitutes an institutionalized set of values that prioritizes autonomy, individual rights, freedom, and choice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to Provide Sexual Education: Lessons from a Pandemic on Masculinity, Individualism, and the Neoliberal Agenda

Lamb

Pagán-Ortiz

Bonilla

2021

IJERPH

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Sex education in the United States is often approached through an individual lens that focuses on personal protection, safety, and rights. This focus on personal responsibility and care-for-self reflects national values and permeates governmental systems and actions, including generalized public health approaches. This issue has been most recently highlighted in the individual and systemic attitudes, beliefs, and responses towards the recent, ongoing crisis following the global surge of COVID-19. In this paper, we provide examples and discuss lessons gleaned from the public health response to this crisis, particularly in the areas and intersections of gender, individualism, and neoliberalism, and the parallels of these issues in sex education. We make an appeal for a collectivist and community-oriented approach to sex education, which would focus not only on prevention and protection, but on inequities, ethics, and care for others.

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Rugged Individualism and Collective (In)action During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 20 publications

References 38 publications

Exploring the Effect of Collective Cultural Attributes on Covid-19-Related Public Health Outcomes

Exploring the Effect of Collective Cultural Attributes on Covid-19-Related Public Health Outcomes

The Burden of Being Certain: National Identity Certainty Predicts Support for COVID-Related Draconian Measures and Outgroup Conspiracy Beliefs

How to Provide Sexual Education: Lessons from a Pandemic on Masculinity, Individualism, and the Neoliberal Agenda

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