Changes in Dangerous and Competitive Worldviews During the Coronavirus Epidemic: Evidence From a Large-Scale U.S. Panel Study

Authors

  • Stylianos Syropoulos
    School of Sustainability, College of Global Futures, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
  • Andrea Y. J. Mah
    College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
  • Katherine Dixon-Gordon
    Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
  • Ezra M. Markowitz
    Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
  • Tatishe M. Nteta
    Department of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
  • Allecia Reid
    Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
  • Joel Ginn
    Psychology Department, Noyce Science Center, Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA, USA
  • Daniel Ames
    Columbia Business School, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
  • Se Min Suh
    Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
  • Brian Lickel
    Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA

Abstract

In a large (N = 1,600) nationally representative and longitudinal survey of the American population, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic we investigated whether dangerous or competitive worldviews shifted. Results show that across the span of one year (i.e., the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic), dangerous but not competitive worldviews, as measured via the dual-process of prejudice framework, significantly increased. This increase was significantly larger for conservatives, whites and older Americans. Further, those who endorsed both worldviews highly at T1 (April 2020) reported significantly smaller increases on average at T2 (August 2021), suggesting that the world was perceived as more dangerous and more competitive one year later particularly for those who saw it as safer and more cooperative at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings highlight that worldviews are malleable, and that specific demographic characteristics and individual differences influence changes in worldviews across time.