The Political Psychology of COVID‐19

Abstract

The COVID‐19 pandemic has given rise to unprecedented and extraordinary conditions. It represents a profound threat to health and political and economic stability globally. It is the pressing issue of the current historical moment and is likely to have far‐reaching social and political implications over the next decade. Political psychology can inform our preparedness for the next phase of the pandemic as well as our planning for a post COVID‐19 world. We hope that this special issue will play its part in helping us to think how we manage and live with COVID‐19 over the coming decade. In this editorial, we review the key themes arising from the contributions to our special issue and, alongside existing knowledge highlight the relevance of political psychology to finding solutions during this time of crisis. The contributions to this special issue and the pandemic raise many classic topics of central interest to political psychology: leadership, solidarity and division, nationalism, equality, racism, and international and intergroup relations. In our editorial, we offer an analysis that highlights three key themes. First, the importance of sociopolitical factors in shaping behavior during this pandemic. Second, the relevance of political leadership and rhetoric to collective efforts to tackle SARS‐COV‐2. And third, how sociopolitical cohesion and division has become increasingly relevant during this time of threat and crisis.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in a polarized political system: Lessons from the 2020 election

“…This result reflects both the widespread impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the inclusion of Covid experiences by family and friends. This is consistent with the emerging literature on the Covid-19 pandemic ( Muldoon et al, 2021 ; Ruisch et al, 2021 ) but in contrast with Aviña and Sevi's (2021) findings that knowing people diagnosed or to have died from COVID increased the likelihood of voting for Biden.…”

The UK government’s “personal responsibility” policy for covid is hypocritical and unsustainable

“…Societies can only function if people look out for each other as well as themselves. Indeed research has found that a sense of shared identity and community has been shown to be crucial to adherence, mutual aid, and wellbeing during the pandemic 17. In stressing the personal to the exclusion of the social, the government is promoting a fractured, selfish culture that is to the detriment of everyone.…”

Narratives of Anti-Vaccination Movements in the German and Brazilian Twittersphere: A Grounded Theory Approach

“…Since the beginning of 2020, the world has been facing a pandemic of the new SARS-CoV-2 virus. To contain the spread of the virus, political measures were taken that, under normal circumstances, would be classified as authoritarian, such as closing borders and stores or restricting personal freedoms (Muldoon et al, 2021). State leaders were confronted with the difficult task of explaining the measures to the population, contributing to meaning-making, and strengthening social cohesion (Montiel et al, 2021).…”