‘We are all in the same boat’: How societal discontent affects intention to help during the COVID-19 pandemic

Elena Resta; Silvana Mula; Conrad Baldner; Daniela Di Santo; Maximilian Agostini; Jocelyn J. Bélanger; Ben Gützkow; Jannis Kreienkamp; Georgios Abakoumkin; Jamilah Hanum Abdul Khaiyom; Vjollca Ahmedi; Handan Akkas; Carlos A. Almenara; Mohsin Atta; Sabahat Cigdem Bagci; Sima Basel; Edona Berisha Kida; Allan B. I. Bernardo; Nicholas R. Buttrick; Phatthanakit Chobthamkit; Hoon-Seok Choi; Mioara Cristea; Sara Csaba; Kaja Damnjanović; Ivan Danyliuk; Arobindu Dash; Karen M. Douglas; Violeta Enea; Daiane Gracieli Faller; Gavan J. Fitzsimons; Alexandra Gheorghiu; Ángel Gómez; Ali Hamaidia; Qing Han; Mai Helmy; Joevarian Hudiyana; Bertus F. Jeronimus; Ding-Yu Jiang; Veljko Jovanović; Zeljka Kamenov; Anna Kende; Shian-Ling Keng; Tra Thi Thanh Kieu; Yasin Koc; Kamila Kovyazina; Inna Kozytska; Joshua Krause; Arie W. Kruglanski; Anton Kurapov; Maja Kutlaca; Nóra Anna Lantos; Edward P. Lemay; Cokorda Bagus J. Lesmana; Winnifred R. Louis; Adrian Lueders; Najma Iqbal Malik; Anton P. Martinez; Kira O. McCabe; Jasmina Mehulić; Mirra Noor Milla; Idris Mohammed; Erica Molinario; Manuel Moyano; Hayat Muhammad; Hamdi Muluk; Solomiia Myroniuk; Reza Najafi; Claudia F. Nisa; Boglárka Nyúl; Paul A. O'Keefe; Jose Javier Olivas Osuna; Evgeny N. Osin; Joonha Park; Gennaro Pica; Antonio Pierro; Jonas H. Rees; Anne Margit Reitsema; Marika Rullo; Michelle K. Ryan; Adil Samekin; Pekka Santtila; Edyta Sasin; Birga M. Schumpe; Heyla A. Selim; Michael Vicente Stanton; Wolfgang Stroebe; Samiah Sultana; Robbie M. Sutton; Eleftheria Tseliou; Akira Utsugi; Jolien A. van Breen; Caspar J. van Lissa; Kees van Veen; Michelle R. van Dellen; Alexandra Vázquez; Robin Wollast; Victoria Wai-Lan Yeung; Somayeh Zand; Iris Lav Žeželj; Bang Zheng; Andreas Zick; Claudia Zúñiga; N. Pontus Leander

doi:10.1002/casp.2572

‘We are all in the same boat’: How societal discontent affects intention to help during the COVID-19 pandemic

Elena Resta^*, Silvana Mula, Conrad Baldner, Daniela Di Santo, Maximilian Agostini, Jocelyn J. Bélanger, Ben Gützkow, Jannis Kreienkamp, Georgios Abakoumkin, Jamilah Hanum Abdul Khaiyom, Vjollca Ahmedi, Handan Akkas, Carlos A. Almenara, Mohsin Atta, Sabahat Cigdem Bagci, Sima Basel, Edona Berisha Kida, Allan B. I. Bernardo, Nicholas R. Buttrick, Phatthanakit ChobthamkitHoon-Seok Choi, Mioara Cristea, Sara Csaba, Kaja Damnjanović, Ivan Danyliuk, Arobindu Dash, Karen M. Douglas, Violeta Enea, Daiane Gracieli Faller, Gavan J. Fitzsimons, Alexandra Gheorghiu, Ángel Gómez, Ali Hamaidia, Qing Han, Mai Helmy, Joevarian Hudiyana, Bertus F. Jeronimus, Ding-Yu Jiang, Veljko Jovanović, Zeljka Kamenov, Anna Kende, Shian-Ling Keng, Tra Thi Thanh Kieu, Yasin Koc, Kamila Kovyazina, Inna Kozytska, Joshua Krause, Arie W. Kruglanski, Anton Kurapov, Maja Kutlaca, Nóra Anna Lantos, Edward P. Lemay, Cokorda Bagus J. Lesmana, Winnifred R. Louis, Adrian Lueders, Najma Iqbal Malik, Anton P. Martinez, Kira O. McCabe, Jasmina Mehulić, Mirra Noor Milla, Idris Mohammed, Erica Molinario, Manuel Moyano, Hayat Muhammad, Hamdi Muluk, Solomiia Myroniuk, Reza Najafi, Claudia F. Nisa, Boglárka Nyúl, Paul A. O'Keefe, Jose Javier Olivas Osuna, Evgeny N. Osin, Joonha Park, Gennaro Pica, Antonio Pierro, Jonas H. Rees, Anne Margit Reitsema, Marika Rullo, Michelle K. Ryan, Adil Samekin, Pekka Santtila, Edyta Sasin, Birga M. Schumpe, Heyla A. Selim, Michael Vicente Stanton, Wolfgang Stroebe, Samiah Sultana, Robbie M. Sutton, Eleftheria Tseliou, Akira Utsugi, Jolien A. van Breen, Caspar J. van Lissa, Kees van Veen, Michelle R. van Dellen, Alexandra Vázquez, Robin Wollast, Victoria Wai-Lan Yeung, Somayeh Zand, Iris Lav Žeželj, Bang Zheng, Andreas Zick, Claudia Zúñiga, N. Pontus Leander

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

14 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a global health crisis. Consequently, many countries have adopted restrictive measures that caused a substantial change in society. Within this framework, it is reasonable to suppose that a sentiment of societal discontent, defined as generalized concern about the precarious state of society, has arisen. Literature shows that collectively experienced situations can motivate people to help each other. Since societal discontent is conceptualized as a collective phenomenon, we argue that it could influence intention to help others, particularly those who suffer from coronavirus. Thus, in the present study, we aimed (a) to explore the relationship between societal discontent and intention to help at the individual level and (b) to investigate a possible moderating effect of societal discontent at the country level on this relationship. To fulfil our purposes, we used data collected in 42 countries (N = 61,734) from the PsyCorona Survey, a cross-national longitudinal study. Results of multilevel analysis showed that, when societal discontent is experienced by the entire community, individuals dissatisfied with society are more prone to help others. Testing the model with longitudinal data (N = 3,817) confirmed our results. Implications for those findings are discussed in relation to crisis management.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-16
Number of pages	16
Journal	Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology
Early online date	8 Oct 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2572
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 8 Oct 2021

Keywords

COVID-19
intention to help
societal discontent

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Psychology
Sociology and Political Science

Access to Document

10.1002/casp.2572Licence: CC BY

Download pdf
© 2021 The Authors.
Final published version, 1.33 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Resta, E., Mula, S., Baldner, C., Santo, D. D., Agostini, M., Bélanger, J. J., Gützkow, B., Kreienkamp, J., Abakoumkin, G., Khaiyom, J. H. A., Ahmedi, V., Akkas, H., Almenara, C. A., Atta, M., Bagci, S. C., Basel, S., Kida, E. B., Bernardo, A. B. I., Buttrick, N. R., ... Leander, N. P. (2021). ‘We are all in the same boat’: How societal discontent affects intention to help during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2572

@article{1a975f9c25e74e4db372428ac6965392,

title = "{\textquoteleft}We are all in the same boat{\textquoteright}: How societal discontent affects intention to help during the COVID-19 pandemic",

abstract = "The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a global health crisis. Consequently, many countries have adopted restrictive measures that caused a substantial change in society. Within this framework, it is reasonable to suppose that a sentiment of societal discontent, defined as generalized concern about the precarious state of society, has arisen. Literature shows that collectively experienced situations can motivate people to help each other. Since societal discontent is conceptualized as a collective phenomenon, we argue that it could influence intention to help others, particularly those who suffer from coronavirus. Thus, in the present study, we aimed (a) to explore the relationship between societal discontent and intention to help at the individual level and (b) to investigate a possible moderating effect of societal discontent at the country level on this relationship. To fulfil our purposes, we used data collected in 42 countries (N = 61,734) from the PsyCorona Survey, a cross-national longitudinal study. Results of multilevel analysis showed that, when societal discontent is experienced by the entire community, individuals dissatisfied with society are more prone to help others. Testing the model with longitudinal data (N = 3,817) confirmed our results. Implications for those findings are discussed in relation to crisis management.",

keywords = "COVID-19, intention to help, societal discontent",

author = "Elena Resta and Silvana Mula and Conrad Baldner and Santo, {Daniela Di} and Maximilian Agostini and B{\'e}langer, {Jocelyn J.} and Ben G{\"u}tzkow and Jannis Kreienkamp and Georgios Abakoumkin and Khaiyom, {Jamilah Hanum Abdul} and Vjollca Ahmedi and Handan Akkas and Almenara, {Carlos A.} and Mohsin Atta and Bagci, {Sabahat Cigdem} and Sima Basel and Kida, {Edona Berisha} and Bernardo, {Allan B. I.} and Buttrick, {Nicholas R.} and Phatthanakit Chobthamkit and Hoon-Seok Choi and Mioara Cristea and Sara Csaba and Kaja Damnjanovi{\'c} and Ivan Danyliuk and Arobindu Dash and Douglas, {Karen M.} and Violeta Enea and Faller, {Daiane Gracieli} and Fitzsimons, {Gavan J.} and Alexandra Gheorghiu and {\'A}ngel G{\'o}mez and Ali Hamaidia and Qing Han and Mai Helmy and Joevarian Hudiyana and Jeronimus, {Bertus F.} and Ding-Yu Jiang and Veljko Jovanovi{\'c} and Zeljka Kamenov and Anna Kende and Shian-Ling Keng and Kieu, {Tra Thi Thanh} and Yasin Koc and Kamila Kovyazina and Inna Kozytska and Joshua Krause and Kruglanski, {Arie W.} and Anton Kurapov and Maja Kutlaca and Lantos, {N{\'o}ra Anna} and Lemay, {Edward P.} and Lesmana, {Cokorda Bagus J.} and Louis, {Winnifred R.} and Adrian Lueders and Malik, {Najma Iqbal} and Martinez, {Anton P.} and McCabe, {Kira O.} and Jasmina Mehuli{\'c} and Milla, {Mirra Noor} and Idris Mohammed and Erica Molinario and Manuel Moyano and Hayat Muhammad and Hamdi Muluk and Solomiia Myroniuk and Reza Najafi and Nisa, {Claudia F.} and Bogl{\'a}rka Ny{\'u}l and O'Keefe, {Paul A.} and Osuna, {Jose Javier Olivas} and Osin, {Evgeny N.} and Joonha Park and Gennaro Pica and Antonio Pierro and Rees, {Jonas H.} and Reitsema, {Anne Margit} and Marika Rullo and Ryan, {Michelle K.} and Adil Samekin and Pekka Santtila and Edyta Sasin and Schumpe, {Birga M.} and Selim, {Heyla A.} and Stanton, {Michael Vicente} and Wolfgang Stroebe and Samiah Sultana and Sutton, {Robbie M.} and Eleftheria Tseliou and Akira Utsugi and {van Breen}, {Jolien A.} and {van Lissa}, {Caspar J.} and {van Veen}, Kees and {van Dellen}, {Michelle R.} and Alexandra V{\'a}zquez and Robin Wollast and Yeung, {Victoria Wai-Lan} and Somayeh Zand and {\v Z}e{\v z}elj, {Iris Lav} and Bang Zheng and Andreas Zick and Claudia Z{\'u}{\~n}iga and Leander, {N. Pontus}",

note = "Funding Information: This research received support from the New York University Abu Dhabi (VCDSF/75–71,015), the University of Groningen (Sustainable Society & Ubbo Emmius Fund) and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (COV20/00086). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.",

year = "2021",

month = oct,

day = "8",

doi = "10.1002/casp.2572",

language = "English",

pages = "1--16",

journal = "Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology",

issn = "1052-9284",

publisher = "John Wiley and Sons Ltd",

}

Resta, E, Mula, S, Baldner, C, Santo, DD, Agostini, M, Bélanger, JJ, Gützkow, B, Kreienkamp, J, Abakoumkin, G, Khaiyom, JHA, Ahmedi, V, Akkas, H, Almenara, CA, Atta, M, Bagci, SC, Basel, S, Kida, EB, Bernardo, ABI, Buttrick, NR, Chobthamkit, P, Choi, H-S, Cristea, M, Csaba, S, Damnjanović, K, Danyliuk, I, Dash, A, Douglas, KM, Enea, V, Faller, DG, Fitzsimons, GJ, Gheorghiu, A, Gómez, Á, Hamaidia, A, Han, Q, Helmy, M, Hudiyana, J, Jeronimus, BF, Jiang, D-Y, Jovanović, V, Kamenov, Z, Kende, A, Keng, S-L, Kieu, TTT, Koc, Y, Kovyazina, K, Kozytska, I, Krause, J, Kruglanski, AW, Kurapov, A, Kutlaca, M, Lantos, NA, Lemay, EP, Lesmana, CBJ, Louis, WR, Lueders, A, Malik, NI, Martinez, AP, McCabe, KO, Mehulić, J, Milla, MN, Mohammed, I, Molinario, E, Moyano, M, Muhammad, H, Muluk, H, Myroniuk, S, Najafi, R, Nisa, CF, Nyúl, B, O'Keefe, PA, Osuna, JJO, Osin, EN, Park, J, Pica, G, Pierro, A, Rees, JH, Reitsema, AM, Rullo, M, Ryan, MK, Samekin, A, Santtila, P, Sasin, E, Schumpe, BM, Selim, HA, Stanton, MV, Stroebe, W, Sultana, S, Sutton, RM, Tseliou, E, Utsugi, A, van Breen, JA, van Lissa, CJ, van Veen, K, van Dellen, MR, Vázquez, A, Wollast, R, Yeung, VW-L, Zand, S, Žeželj, IL, Zheng, B, Zick, A, Zúñiga, C & Leander, NP 2021, '‘We are all in the same boat’: How societal discontent affects intention to help during the COVID-19 pandemic', Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2572

TY - JOUR

T1 - ‘We are all in the same boat’: How societal discontent affects intention to help during the COVID-19 pandemic

AU - Resta, Elena

AU - Mula, Silvana

AU - Baldner, Conrad

AU - Santo, Daniela Di

AU - Agostini, Maximilian

AU - Bélanger, Jocelyn J.

AU - Gützkow, Ben

AU - Kreienkamp, Jannis

AU - Abakoumkin, Georgios

AU - Khaiyom, Jamilah Hanum Abdul

AU - Ahmedi, Vjollca

AU - Akkas, Handan

AU - Almenara, Carlos A.

AU - Atta, Mohsin

AU - Bagci, Sabahat Cigdem

AU - Basel, Sima

AU - Kida, Edona Berisha

AU - Bernardo, Allan B. I.

AU - Buttrick, Nicholas R.

AU - Chobthamkit, Phatthanakit

AU - Choi, Hoon-Seok

AU - Cristea, Mioara

AU - Csaba, Sara

AU - Damnjanović, Kaja

AU - Danyliuk, Ivan

AU - Dash, Arobindu

AU - Douglas, Karen M.

AU - Enea, Violeta

AU - Faller, Daiane Gracieli

AU - Fitzsimons, Gavan J.

AU - Gheorghiu, Alexandra

AU - Gómez, Ángel

AU - Hamaidia, Ali

AU - Han, Qing

AU - Helmy, Mai

AU - Hudiyana, Joevarian

AU - Jeronimus, Bertus F.

AU - Jiang, Ding-Yu

AU - Jovanović, Veljko

AU - Kamenov, Zeljka

AU - Kende, Anna

AU - Keng, Shian-Ling

AU - Kieu, Tra Thi Thanh

AU - Koc, Yasin

AU - Kovyazina, Kamila

AU - Kozytska, Inna

AU - Krause, Joshua

AU - Kruglanski, Arie W.

AU - Kurapov, Anton

AU - Kutlaca, Maja

AU - Lantos, Nóra Anna

AU - Lemay, Edward P.

AU - Lesmana, Cokorda Bagus J.

AU - Louis, Winnifred R.

AU - Lueders, Adrian

AU - Malik, Najma Iqbal

AU - Martinez, Anton P.

AU - McCabe, Kira O.

AU - Mehulić, Jasmina

AU - Milla, Mirra Noor

AU - Mohammed, Idris

AU - Molinario, Erica

AU - Moyano, Manuel

AU - Muhammad, Hayat

AU - Muluk, Hamdi

AU - Myroniuk, Solomiia

AU - Najafi, Reza

AU - Nisa, Claudia F.

AU - Nyúl, Boglárka

AU - O'Keefe, Paul A.

AU - Osuna, Jose Javier Olivas

AU - Osin, Evgeny N.

AU - Park, Joonha

AU - Pica, Gennaro

AU - Pierro, Antonio

AU - Rees, Jonas H.

AU - Reitsema, Anne Margit

AU - Rullo, Marika

AU - Ryan, Michelle K.

AU - Samekin, Adil

AU - Santtila, Pekka

AU - Sasin, Edyta

AU - Schumpe, Birga M.

AU - Selim, Heyla A.

AU - Stanton, Michael Vicente

AU - Stroebe, Wolfgang

AU - Sultana, Samiah

AU - Sutton, Robbie M.

AU - Tseliou, Eleftheria

AU - Utsugi, Akira

AU - van Breen, Jolien A.

AU - van Lissa, Caspar J.

AU - van Veen, Kees

AU - van Dellen, Michelle R.

AU - Vázquez, Alexandra

AU - Wollast, Robin

AU - Yeung, Victoria Wai-Lan

AU - Zand, Somayeh

AU - Žeželj, Iris Lav

AU - Zheng, Bang

AU - Zick, Andreas

AU - Zúñiga, Claudia

AU - Leander, N. Pontus

N1 - Funding Information: This research received support from the New York University Abu Dhabi (VCDSF/75–71,015), the University of Groningen (Sustainable Society & Ubbo Emmius Fund) and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (COV20/00086). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2021/10/8

Y1 - 2021/10/8

N2 - The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a global health crisis. Consequently, many countries have adopted restrictive measures that caused a substantial change in society. Within this framework, it is reasonable to suppose that a sentiment of societal discontent, defined as generalized concern about the precarious state of society, has arisen. Literature shows that collectively experienced situations can motivate people to help each other. Since societal discontent is conceptualized as a collective phenomenon, we argue that it could influence intention to help others, particularly those who suffer from coronavirus. Thus, in the present study, we aimed (a) to explore the relationship between societal discontent and intention to help at the individual level and (b) to investigate a possible moderating effect of societal discontent at the country level on this relationship. To fulfil our purposes, we used data collected in 42 countries (N = 61,734) from the PsyCorona Survey, a cross-national longitudinal study. Results of multilevel analysis showed that, when societal discontent is experienced by the entire community, individuals dissatisfied with society are more prone to help others. Testing the model with longitudinal data (N = 3,817) confirmed our results. Implications for those findings are discussed in relation to crisis management.

AB - The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a global health crisis. Consequently, many countries have adopted restrictive measures that caused a substantial change in society. Within this framework, it is reasonable to suppose that a sentiment of societal discontent, defined as generalized concern about the precarious state of society, has arisen. Literature shows that collectively experienced situations can motivate people to help each other. Since societal discontent is conceptualized as a collective phenomenon, we argue that it could influence intention to help others, particularly those who suffer from coronavirus. Thus, in the present study, we aimed (a) to explore the relationship between societal discontent and intention to help at the individual level and (b) to investigate a possible moderating effect of societal discontent at the country level on this relationship. To fulfil our purposes, we used data collected in 42 countries (N = 61,734) from the PsyCorona Survey, a cross-national longitudinal study. Results of multilevel analysis showed that, when societal discontent is experienced by the entire community, individuals dissatisfied with society are more prone to help others. Testing the model with longitudinal data (N = 3,817) confirmed our results. Implications for those findings are discussed in relation to crisis management.

KW - COVID-19

KW - intention to help

KW - societal discontent

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116529977&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/casp.2572

DO - 10.1002/casp.2572

M3 - Article

C2 - 34898961

AN - SCOPUS:85116529977

SN - 1052-9284

SP - 1

EP - 16

JO - Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology

JF - Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology

ER -

‘We are all in the same boat’: How societal discontent affects intention to help during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

The biggest pandemic study in the world

Cite this

‘We are all in the same boat’: How societal discontent affects intention to help during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Press/Media

The biggest pandemic study in the world

Cite this