Political orientation, moral foundations, and COVID-19 social distancing.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have advocated numerous social distancing measures, and compliance with these has likely saved millions of lives globally. In an online sample drawn from the U.S. and Canada (N = 209), participants completed measures of political orientation, moral foundatio...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267136 |
| _version_ | 1811294753760739328 |
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| author | Hammond Tarry Valérie Vézina Jacob Bailey Leah Lopes |
| author_facet | Hammond Tarry Valérie Vézina Jacob Bailey Leah Lopes |
| author_sort | Hammond Tarry |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have advocated numerous social distancing measures, and compliance with these has likely saved millions of lives globally. In an online sample drawn from the U.S. and Canada (N = 209), participants completed measures of political orientation, moral foundations, and COVID-19 social distancing attitudes and behaviours. A more left-wing political orientation, and greater endorsement of the individualizing moral foundations were significantly related to more positive social distancing attitudes, and greater self-reported compliance with relevant restrictions. A more right-wing political orientation, and greater endorsement of the binding and economic liberty foundations were associated with less positive attitudes and reduced compliance. In a series of mediation analyses, the relationships between political orientation and various social distancing measures were significantly mediated by variations in participants' moral foundations, particularly their endorsement of economic liberty and the individualizing foundations. Further data indicated that the perceived persuasiveness of messages based on each moral foundation advocating for continued social distancing was significantly related to both participants' moral values and their political orientation. Findings are discussed in terms of understanding politicized differences around social distancing as partly reflecting differential valuation of the moral foundations, and in creating effective public health messaging regarding compliance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T05:22:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8eac828f76754e9ebd33c719c7fc1fda |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T05:22:07Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-8eac828f76754e9ebd33c719c7fc1fda2022-12-22T03:00:42ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01176e026713610.1371/journal.pone.0267136Political orientation, moral foundations, and COVID-19 social distancing.Hammond TarryValérie VézinaJacob BaileyLeah LopesDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have advocated numerous social distancing measures, and compliance with these has likely saved millions of lives globally. In an online sample drawn from the U.S. and Canada (N = 209), participants completed measures of political orientation, moral foundations, and COVID-19 social distancing attitudes and behaviours. A more left-wing political orientation, and greater endorsement of the individualizing moral foundations were significantly related to more positive social distancing attitudes, and greater self-reported compliance with relevant restrictions. A more right-wing political orientation, and greater endorsement of the binding and economic liberty foundations were associated with less positive attitudes and reduced compliance. In a series of mediation analyses, the relationships between political orientation and various social distancing measures were significantly mediated by variations in participants' moral foundations, particularly their endorsement of economic liberty and the individualizing foundations. Further data indicated that the perceived persuasiveness of messages based on each moral foundation advocating for continued social distancing was significantly related to both participants' moral values and their political orientation. Findings are discussed in terms of understanding politicized differences around social distancing as partly reflecting differential valuation of the moral foundations, and in creating effective public health messaging regarding compliance.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267136 |
| spellingShingle | Hammond Tarry Valérie Vézina Jacob Bailey Leah Lopes Political orientation, moral foundations, and COVID-19 social distancing. PLoS ONE |
| title | Political orientation, moral foundations, and COVID-19 social distancing. |
| title_full | Political orientation, moral foundations, and COVID-19 social distancing. |
| title_fullStr | Political orientation, moral foundations, and COVID-19 social distancing. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Political orientation, moral foundations, and COVID-19 social distancing. |
| title_short | Political orientation, moral foundations, and COVID-19 social distancing. |
| title_sort | political orientation moral foundations and covid 19 social distancing |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267136 |
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