National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic

Understanding collective behaviour is an important aspect of managing the pandemic response. Here the authors show in a large global study that participants that reported identifying more strongly with their nation reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies in the context of the pandemic.Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = -0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics.
John Templeton Foundation (JTF); Narodowe Centrum Nauki (National Science Centre); UK Research & Innovation (UKRI); Medical Research Council UK (MRC); Economic Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Award; Economic Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Award; University of Oxford; Gouvernement du Canada Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada); Agentura na Podporu Vyskumu a Vyvoja (Slovak Research and Development Agency); Austrian Science Fund (FWF); Universitat Wien (University of Vienna); Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan); Aarhus Universitets Forskningsfond (Aarhus University Research Foundation); Swedish Research Council; Carlsberg Foundation; Ministarstvo Prosvete, Nauke i Tehnolokog Razvoja (Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia); NOMIS Stiftung (NOMIS Foundation); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); UK Research & Innovation (UKRI), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC); French National Research Agency (ANR); German Research Foundation (DFG); Gouvernement du Canada | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Conseil de Recherches en Sciences Naturelles et en Genie du Canada); HKUST IEMS research grant project, funded by EY; Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education); Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation | Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development); Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence Scheme; Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar; J. William Fulbright Program; Institute for Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich; Project Pro.Co.P.E., IMT School; Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR); Princeton Graduate Student Research Funding (Program in Cognitive Science); Corruption Laboratory on Ethics, Accountability; Rule of Law (CLEAR); University of Virginia; Charles Koch Foundation; Center for the Science of Moral Understanding; Australian Research Council; Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT) Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI); St Andrews and Stirling Graduate Programme Research Funding; Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP); Seele Neuroscience Social Projects Fund