Lives versus Livelihoods? Perceived economic risk has a stronger association with support for COVID-19 preventive measures than perceived health risk

This paper examines whether compliance with COVID-19 mitigation measures is motivated by wanting to save lives or save the economy (or both), and which implications this carries to fight the pandemic. National representative samples were collected from 24 countries (N = 25,435). The main predictors were (1) perceived risk to contract coronavirus, (2) perceived risk to suffer economic losses due to coronavirus, and (3) their interaction effect. Individual and country-level variables were added as covariates in multilevel regression models. We examined compliance with various preventive health behaviors and support for strict containment policies. Results show that perceived economic risk consistently predicted mitigation behavior and policy support—and its effects were positive. Perceived health risk had mixed effects. Only two significant interactions between health and economic risk were identified—both positive

From the Same Starting Points to Moderate versus Radical Solutions. Hungarian Case Study on the Political Socialization of Young LMP and Jobbik Party Political Activists

In line with the general tendency in post-communist societies, several waves of youth research reported the low interest in politics amongst young people in Hungary from late 1990s until 2010 (Csákó et al., 1999; Bognár, 2010; Gazsó and Laki, 2000; Örkény, 2000; Gazsó and Szabó, 2002; Szabó, 2009). However, two political movements emerged that successfully attracted young supporters and managed to enter the Hungarian parliament in 2010: LMP, a center-leftist party, and Jobbik, a radical rightist party. In-depth interviews with four young LMP and four Jobbik activists were carried out to examine how different agents of socialization contributed to political participation, and the influences that determine whether one or the other path is chosen, i.e., a democratic, leftist, or a radical rightist one. Informal socialization agents, such as the family and peer influences and political events played an important role in political socialization, while the influence of formal agents, such as school education was missing. The groups shared the same events as clues to their political awakening. In spite of starting from their shared generational community, they chose different solutions according to the ideologies stemming from their political socialization. Our results about the lack of institutional influences on political socialization indicates the relevance of fostering future changes in the role of schools in conveying norms for democracy

Author Correction: A large-scale test of the link between intergroup contact and support for social change

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

A large-scale test of the link between intergroup contact and support for social change (vol 4, pg 380, 2020)

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.status: publishe

The Political Dimension of COVID-19 Health-Protective Behavior in the United States

According to health behavior theories, perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived effectiveness of recommended health-protective behaviors determine motivation to follow these recommendations. Because the U.S. President Trump and U.S. conservative politicians downplayed the risk and seriousness of contracting COVID-19 and the effectiveness of recommended actions, we predicted that politically conservative Americans would be less likely than liberals to enact recommended health-protective behaviors. We further predicted that these effects would be mediated by perceived health risk, perceived infection severity and perceived action effectiveness. In two studies of U.S. residents, political conservatism was inversely associated with perceived health risk and enactment of health-protective behaviors. Furthermore, perceived risk of infection (both studies), perceived severity of infection (Study 2), and perceived effectiveness of behaviors (Study 2), mediated effects of political orientation on health-protective behaviors. These effects were stronger for participants living in the U.S. (N=10,923) than outside the U.S. (N=51,986)

The Political Dimension of COVID-19 Health-Protective Behavior in the United States

According to health behavior theories, perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived effectiveness of recommended health-protective behaviors determine motivation to follow these recommendations. Because the U.S. President Trump and U.S. conservative politicians downplayed the risk and seriousness of contracting COVID-19 and the effectiveness of recommended actions, we predicted that politically conservative Americans would be less likely than liberals to enact recommended health-protective behaviors. We further predicted that these effects would be mediated by perceived health risk, perceived infection severity and perceived action effectiveness. In two studies of U.S. residents, political conservatism was inversely associated with perceived health risk and enactment of health-protective behaviors. Furthermore, perceived risk of infection (both studies), perceived severity of infection (Study 2), and perceived effectiveness of behaviors (Study 2), mediated effects of political orientation on health-protective behaviors. These effects were stronger for participants living in the U.S. (N=10,923) than outside the U.S. (N=51,986)