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Regional personality differences predict variation in early COVID-19 infections and mobility patterns indicative of social distancing Heinrich, Peters; Götz, Friedrich M.; Ebert, Tobias; Müller, Sandrine R.; Rentfrow, P. Jason; Gosling, Samuel D.; Obschonka, Martin; Ames, Daniel; Potter, Jeff; Matz, Sandra C.

Abstract

The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed stark regional variation in the spread of the virus. While previous research has highlighted the impact of regional differences in sociodemographic and economic factors, we argue that regional differences in social and compliance behaviors – the very behaviors through which the virus is transmitted – are critical drivers of the spread of COVID-19, particularly in the early stages of the pandemic. Combining self-reported personality data that capture individual differences in these behaviors (3.5M people) with COVID- 19 prevalence and mortality rates as well as behavioral mobility observations (29M people) in the US and Germany, we show that regional personality differences can help explain the early transmission of COVID-19; this is true even after controlling for a wide array of important sociodemographic, economic, and pandemic-related factors. We use specification curve analyses to test the effects of regional personality in a robust and unbiased way. The results indicate that in the early stages of COVID-19, Openness-to-experience acted as a risk factor while Neuroticism acted as a protective factor. The findings also highlight the complexity of the pandemic by showing that the effects of regional personality can differ (i) across countries (Extraversion), (ii) over time (Openness) and (iii) from those previously observed at the individual level (Agreeableness and Conscientiousness). Taken together, our findings support the importance of regional personality differences in the early spread of COVID-19, but they also caution against over-simplified answers to phenomena as complex as a global pandemic.

Item Metadata

Title
Regional personality differences predict variation in early COVID-19 infections and mobility patterns indicative of social distancing
Creator
Heinrich, Peters; Götz, Friedrich M.; Ebert, Tobias; Müller, Sandrine R.; Rentfrow, P. Jason; Gosling, Samuel D.; Obschonka, Martin; Ames, Daniel; Potter, Jeff; Matz, Sandra C.
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Date Issued
2022
Description
The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed stark regional variation in the spread of the virus. While previous research has highlighted the impact of regional differences in sociodemographic and economic factors, we argue that regional differences in social and compliance behaviors – the very behaviors through which the virus is transmitted – are critical drivers of the spread of COVID-19, particularly in the early stages of the pandemic. Combining self-reported personality data that capture individual differences in these behaviors (3.5M people) with COVID- 19 prevalence and mortality rates as well as behavioral mobility observations (29M people) in the US and Germany, we show that regional personality differences can help explain the early transmission of COVID-19; this is true even after controlling for a wide array of important sociodemographic, economic, and pandemic-related factors. We use specification curve analyses to test the effects of regional personality in a robust and unbiased way. The results indicate that in the early stages of COVID-19, Openness-to-experience acted as a risk factor while Neuroticism acted as a protective factor. The findings also highlight the complexity of the pandemic by showing that the effects of regional personality can differ (i) across countries (Extraversion), (ii) over time (Openness) and (iii) from those previously observed at the individual level (Agreeableness and Conscientiousness). Taken together, our findings support the importance of regional personality differences in the early spread of COVID-19, but they also caution against over-simplified answers to phenomena as complex as a global pandemic.
Subject
COVID-19; Mobility; Social distancing; Regional personality; Big Five
Genre
Article; Postprint
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2024-10-16
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0445573
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89413
Affiliation
Arts, Faculty of; Non UBC; Psychology, Department of
Citation
Peters, H., Götz, F. M., Ebert, T., Müller, S. R., Rentfrow, P. J., Gosling, S. D., Obschonka, M., Ames, D., Potter, J., & Matz, S. C. (2023). Regional personality differences predict variation in early COVID-19 infections and mobility patterns indicative of social distancing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 124(4), 848–872.
Publisher DOI
10.1037/pspp0000439
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International