Information About Herd Immunity Through Vaccination and Empathy Promote COVID-19 Vaccination Intentions

被引:84
作者
Pfattheicher, Stefan [1 ]
Petersen, Michael Bang [2 ]
Bohm, Robert [3 ,4 ,5 ]
机构
[1] Aarhus Univ, Dept Psychol & Behav Sci, Bartholins Alle 11, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
[2] Aarhus Univ, Dept Polit Sci, Aarhus, Denmark
[3] Univ Copenhagen, Dept Psychol, Copenhagen, Denmark
[4] Univ Copenhagen, Dept Econ, Copenhagen, Denmark
[5] Univ Copenhagen, Copenhagen Ctr Social Data Sci SODAS, Copenhagen, Denmark
关键词
COVID-19; herd immunity; empathy; prosociality; vaccination; PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR; HAND HYGIENE; HESITANCY; ALTRUISM;
D O I
10.1037/hea0001096
中图分类号
B849 [应用心理学];
学科分类号
040203 ;
摘要
Objective: An effective vaccine against COVID-19 is a desired solution to curb the spread of the disease. However, vaccine hesitancy might hinder high uptake rates and thus undermine efforts to eliminate COVID-19 once an effective vaccine became available. The present contribution addresses this issue by examining two ways of increasing the intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Method: Two preregistered online studies were conducted (N = 2,315 participants from the United Kingdom) in which knowledge about and beliefs in herd immunity through vaccination, as well as empathy for those most vulnerable to the virus, were either measured (Study 1) or manipulated (Study 2). As a dependent variable, individuals' self-reported vaccination intention once a vaccine against COVID-19 became available was assessed. Results: In Study 1 (N = 310), the intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19 was correlated with knowledge about and belief in herd immunity through vaccination (r = .58, p < .001), as well as with empathy for those most vulnerable to the virus (r = .26, p < .001). In Study 2 (N = 2,005), information about herd immunity through vaccination (Cohen's d = .13, p = .003) and empathy (Cohen's d = .22, p < .001) independently promoted vaccination intention. Conclusions: The motivation to get vaccinated against COVID-19 was related to and could be causally promoted by both mere information about herd immunity through vaccination and by empathy. As such, the present research provides a better understanding of the intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
引用
收藏
页码:85 / 93
页数:9
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