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Compliance in crisis: Concern,trust and distrustful complacency in the COVID-19 pandemic |
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| Authors: | Fanny Lalot Dominic Abrams Curtis Jessop John Curtice |
| Institution: | 1. Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland;2. School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK;3. National Centre for Social Research, London, UK;4. National Centre for Social Research, London, UK
School of Government and Public Policy, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK |
| Abstract: | Two studies tested a distrustful complacency hypothesis, according to which either concern or political trust would be enough to sustain law-abiding attitudes and compliance with health-protective policies during the COVID-19 pandemic; but the absence of both concern and trust would result in markedly lower support and compliance. Study 1 supported this hypothesis with NatCen nationally representative sample of Great Britain (N = 2413; weighted regression analyses), focussing on law-abiding attitudes. Study 2 (preregistered) replicated these findings with a representative sample (N = 1523) investigating support for COVID-19 policies and compliant behaviour. Participants who were less concerned about the consequences of the pandemic (for themselves and for others) and simultaneously less trustful of the government expressed weaker law-abiding attitudes and reported less compliance with COVID-19 restrictions. These findings have implications for policy and public health strategies in time of crisis. |
| Keywords: | concern compliance COVID-19 distrustful complacency health-protective behaviour pandemic political trust |