Responsibility, individual behavior, and support for policies in face of the COVID-19 pandemic

Responsibility to protect others is one of the most important drivers of prosocial and civic behavior. This study will test whether the sense of individual exclusive and inclusive responsibility translates into public health practices and prosocial behavior and support for diverse policies aimed at fighting COVID-19, as well as mechanisms explaining these relationships. Specifically, we predict that responsibility construals will motivate 1) individual behavior, that is, compliance with public health practices and solidarity with others in need, 2) attitudes towards social policies aiming at internal and external security, employment, or social assistance to the sectors of the population (e.g., the homeless, or the elderly), and 3) support for global cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. In addition, we will test indirect effects in these relationships, through other-oriented emotions (e.g., compassion).