The effects of social vigilantism and masculine honor beliefs on perceptions of confrontation during the COVID-19 pandemic |
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Authors: | Ashley A Schiffer Brooke E Wilcox Tucker L Jones Donald A Saucier |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA;2. School Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA;3. Department of Psychology, Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, USA |
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Abstract: | Varying opinions about the COVID-19 pandemic inspire different behaviors (e.g., mask-wearing), and confrontation may result between people with differing viewpoints. Individual differences associated with belief superiority (e.g., Social Vigilantism; SV) and/or pride (e.g., Masculine Honor Beliefs; MHB) likely related to third-person perceptions of pandemic confrontations. In this study (N = 237; US sample), we used vignettes in a 2 (Mask: Yes/No) × 2(Confrontation Response: Vocal Defense/Walked Away) between-groups design to examine how SV and MHB predict perceptions of (1) responses to public confrontation about (not) wearing a mask and (2) the person being confronted. In general, mask-wearing and walking away from confrontation were perceived more positively. Higher SV was associated with more positive perceptions of seemingly morally-justified responses to confrontation (e.g., walking away when confronted for not wearing a mask, vocally defending oneself when confronted for wearing a mask). Contrarily, higher MHB were associated with more positive perceptions of non-mask-wearing. This research provides insight about how individual differences in SV and MHB relate to nuances in pandemic confrontations, and responses to confrontations, about (non)mask-wearing. |
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Keywords: | confrontation COVID-19 masculine honor beliefs mask-wearing social vigilantism |
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