Make it through tough times as a group: on the importance of collective predictors of protection behavior and policy acceptance of mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic

During crises like a pandemic, citizens must adapt to disruptive policies. We challenge the view that policy support depends mainly on personal costs and benefits (e.g., health threats) and propose that collective factors, such as ingroup norms and collective efficacy, are equally important. Across...

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Main Authors: Annedore Hoppe, Anna Maria Becker, Immo Fritsche, Johannes Lautenbacher
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Social Influence
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15534510.2024.2447272
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author Annedore Hoppe
Anna Maria Becker
Immo Fritsche
Johannes Lautenbacher
author_facet Annedore Hoppe
Anna Maria Becker
Immo Fritsche
Johannes Lautenbacher
author_sort Annedore Hoppe
collection DOAJ
description During crises like a pandemic, citizens must adapt to disruptive policies. We challenge the view that policy support depends mainly on personal costs and benefits (e.g., health threats) and propose that collective factors, such as ingroup norms and collective efficacy, are equally important. Across three measurement points during Germany’s first COVID-19 wave (March–May 2020, N = 469), we found that both personal and collective factors independently predicted protection behavior and policy acceptance. Additional longitudinal analyses revealed, that for individuals strongly identified with their ingroup, early policy acceptance enhanced collective efficacy and norm perceptions, which subsequently increased later acceptance. These findings highlight collective agency as crucial for coping with crises and provide insights for addressing other global challenges, such as climate change.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1553-4510
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publisher Taylor & Francis Group
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series Social Influence
spelling doaj-art-32e9858985084419a5030006ad358b2c2025-01-23T14:39:49ZengTaylor & Francis GroupSocial Influence1553-45101553-45292025-12-0120110.1080/15534510.2024.2447272Make it through tough times as a group: on the importance of collective predictors of protection behavior and policy acceptance of mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemicAnnedore Hoppe0Anna Maria Becker1Immo Fritsche2Johannes Lautenbacher3Department of Social Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Social Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Social Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Social Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, GermanyDuring crises like a pandemic, citizens must adapt to disruptive policies. We challenge the view that policy support depends mainly on personal costs and benefits (e.g., health threats) and propose that collective factors, such as ingroup norms and collective efficacy, are equally important. Across three measurement points during Germany’s first COVID-19 wave (March–May 2020, N = 469), we found that both personal and collective factors independently predicted protection behavior and policy acceptance. Additional longitudinal analyses revealed, that for individuals strongly identified with their ingroup, early policy acceptance enhanced collective efficacy and norm perceptions, which subsequently increased later acceptance. These findings highlight collective agency as crucial for coping with crises and provide insights for addressing other global challenges, such as climate change.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15534510.2024.2447272COVID-19 pandemicsocial identityprotection behaviorpolicy acceptancecollective crisis
spellingShingle Annedore Hoppe
Anna Maria Becker
Immo Fritsche
Johannes Lautenbacher
Make it through tough times as a group: on the importance of collective predictors of protection behavior and policy acceptance of mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic
Social Influence
COVID-19 pandemic
social identity
protection behavior
policy acceptance
collective crisis
title Make it through tough times as a group: on the importance of collective predictors of protection behavior and policy acceptance of mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full Make it through tough times as a group: on the importance of collective predictors of protection behavior and policy acceptance of mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_fullStr Make it through tough times as a group: on the importance of collective predictors of protection behavior and policy acceptance of mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Make it through tough times as a group: on the importance of collective predictors of protection behavior and policy acceptance of mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_short Make it through tough times as a group: on the importance of collective predictors of protection behavior and policy acceptance of mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_sort make it through tough times as a group on the importance of collective predictors of protection behavior and policy acceptance of mitigation measures during the covid 19 pandemic
topic COVID-19 pandemic
social identity
protection behavior
policy acceptance
collective crisis
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15534510.2024.2447272
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