Social power and perceived risk of contagious disease: High power leads to lower risk estimation of catching COVID ‐19

AbstractAn accurate estimation of COVID-19 contagion risk is important in terms of understanding the dynamic of disease transmission and health behavior. Previous research has documented that many health-related variables influence the risk estimation of communicable diseases. We expanded the current understanding by investigating whether health-irrelevant factors —such as one's sense of power—can have a systematic and consequential impact on perceived risks of catching the coronavirus. Based on the social distance theory of power, we propose that people in a higher power position develop a greater sense of social distance than those in a lower power posi tion, which may in turn predispose the former to think that they are less likely to catch contagious diseases from other people. In Study 1, we provided correlational evidence that the personal sense of power was associated with the underestimation of contagion probability in Chinese university stud ents. In Study 2, we established the causal relationship between power and concerns for contagious diseases in nonstudent adults and revealed the mediating role of social distance in the observed effect. Overall, these results, for the first time, indicate that power can elevate perceived social dis tance, exerting downstreaming effects on health cognition during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Risk Analysis - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research