An existential perspective on interpersonal closeness and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

IF 2.4 3区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY Psychology & Health Pub Date : 2024-08-01 Epub Date: 2022-10-03 DOI:10.1080/08870446.2022.2129052

Samuel Fairlamb, Emily Courtney

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Abstract

Objective: The terror management health model proposes that COVID-19's association with death should increase a desire for closeness, which could undermine social distancing intentions. Alternatively, social distancing intentions may increase if it has become culturally valued. The present research assessed these claims.

Design: We conducted three pre-registered online experiments (N = 409) where we manipulated COVID-19 thoughts, and examined either proximal (i.e. immediate) or distal (i.e. delayed) reactions.

Main outcome measures: Death-thought accessibility, desire for closeness, social distancing intentions, and measures concerning the perceived cultural value of social distancing.

Results: COVID-19 thoughts increased death-thought accessibility (Study 1). COVID-19-induced death thoughts increased a distal desire for closeness, particularly in securely attached individuals, but also increased the perceived value of, and intentions to engage in, social distancing (Studies 2 and 3).

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate how proximal strategies may progress to distal strategies when they become embedded within cultural worldviews. These findings can aid in sustained efforts to encourage social distancing behavior.

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从存在论角度看 COVID-19 大流行期间的人际亲近和社会疏远。

目的：恐怖管理健康模式认为，COVID-19 与死亡的联系会增加人们对亲近的渴望，从而削弱社会疏远意图。或者说，如果COVID-19在文化上受到重视，社会疏远意图可能会增加。本研究对这些说法进行了评估：我们进行了三次预先注册的在线实验（N = 409），在实验中我们操纵了 COVID-19 的想法，并考察了近端（即即时）或远端（即延迟）反应：主要结果测量指标：死亡想法的可及性、对亲近的渴望、社会疏远意图以及有关社会疏远的文化价值的测量：结果：COVID-19 想法增加了死亡想法的可及性（研究 1）。COVID-19引发的死亡想法增加了远端亲近欲望，特别是在安全依恋的个体中，但也增加了社会疏远的感知价值和参与社会疏远的意愿（研究2和3）：我们的研究结果表明，当近端策略融入文化世界观时，它们可能会发展成为远端策略。这些发现有助于持续努力鼓励社会疏远行为。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Psychology & Health Multiple-

CiteScore

7.30

自引率

3.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Psychology & Health promotes the study and application of psychological approaches to health and illness. The contents include work on psychological aspects of physical illness, treatment processes and recovery; psychosocial factors in the aetiology of physical illnesses; health attitudes and behaviour, including prevention; the individual-health care system interface particularly communication and psychologically-based interventions. The journal publishes original research, and accepts not only papers describing rigorous empirical work, including meta-analyses, but also those outlining new psychological approaches and interventions in health-related fields.