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

Elena Resta¹, Silvana Mula¹, Conrad Baldner¹, Daniela Di Santo¹, Maximilian Agostini², Jocelyn J Bélanger³, Ben Gützkow², Jannis Kreienkamp², Georgios Abakoumkin⁴, Jamilah Hanum Abdul Khaiyom⁵, Vjollca Ahmedi⁶, Handan Akkas⁷, Carlos A Almenara⁸, Mohsin Atta⁹, Sabahat Cigdem Bagci¹⁰, Sima Basel¹¹, Edona Berisha Kida¹², Allan B I Bernardo¹³, Nicholas R Buttrick¹⁴, Phatthanakit Chobthamkit¹⁵, Hoon-Seok Choi¹⁶, Mioara Cristea¹⁷, Sara Csaba¹⁸, Kaja Damnjanović¹⁹, Ivan Danyliuk²⁰, Arobindu Dash²¹, Karen M Douglas²², Violeta Enea²³, Daiane Gracieli Faller²⁴, Gavan J Fitzsimons²⁵, Alexandra Gheorghiu²⁶, Ángel Gómez²⁷, Ali Hamaidia²⁸, Qing Han²⁹, Mai Helmy^{30

31}, Joevarian Hudiyana³², Bertus F Jeronimus², Ding-Yu Jiang³³, Veljko Jovanović³⁴, Zeljka Kamenov³⁵, Anna Kende³⁶, Shian-Ling Keng³⁷, Tra Thi Thanh Kieu³⁸, Yasin Koc², Kamila Kovyazina³⁹, Inna Kozytska²⁰, Joshua Krause², Arie W Kruglanski⁴⁰, Anton Kurapov²⁰, Maja Kutlaca⁴¹, Nóra Anna Lantos³⁶, Edward P Lemay Jr⁴⁰, Cokorda Bagus J Lesmana⁴², Winnifred R Louis⁴³, Adrian Lueders⁴⁴, Najma Iqbal Malik⁹, Anton P Martinez⁴⁵, Kira O McCabe⁴⁶, Jasmina Mehulić³⁵, Mirra Noor Milla³², Idris Mohammed⁴⁷, Erica Molinario⁴⁸, Manuel Moyano⁴⁹, Hayat Muhammad⁵⁰, Hamdi Muluk³², Solomiia Myroniuk², Reza Najafi⁵¹, Claudia F Nisa³, Boglárka Nyúl³⁶, Paul A O'Keefe^{37

52}, Jose Javier Olivas Osuna⁵³, Evgeny N Osin⁵⁴, Joonha Park⁵⁵, Gennaro Pica⁵⁶, Antonio Pierro¹, Jonas H Rees⁵⁷, Anne Margit Reitsema⁵⁸, Marika Rullo⁵⁹, Michelle K Ryan^{60

61}, Adil Samekin⁶², Pekka Santtila⁶³, Edyta Sasin³, Birga M Schumpe⁶⁴, Heyla A Selim⁶⁵, Michael Vicente Stanton⁶⁶, Wolfgang Stroebe², Samiah Sultana², Robbie M Sutton²², Eleftheria Tseliou⁴, Akira Utsugi⁶⁷, Jolien A van Breen⁶⁸, Caspar J van Lissa⁶⁹, Kees van Veen⁷⁰, Michelle R van Dellen⁷¹, Alexandra Vázquez²⁷, Robin Wollast⁷², Victoria Wai-Lan Yeung⁷³, Somayeh Zand⁵¹, Iris Lav Žeželj¹⁹, Bang Zheng⁷⁴, Andreas Zick⁷⁵, Claudia Zúñiga⁷⁶, N Pontus Leander²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Developmental and Social Psychology Sapienza University of Rome Rome Italy.
² Department of Psychology University of Groningen Groningen Netherlands.
³ Department of Psychology New York University Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi UAE.
⁴ Laboratory of Psychology, Department of Early Childhood Education University of Thessaly Volos Greece.
⁵ Department of Psychology International Islamic University Malaysia Selangor Malaysia.
⁶ Pedagogy Pristine University, Kosovo.
⁷ Business Administration Department Ankara Science University Ankara Turkey.
⁸ Faculty of Health Science Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas Santiago de Surco Peru.
⁹ Department of Psychology University of Sargodha Sargodha Pakistan.
¹⁰ Department of Psychology Sabanci University Istanbul Turkey.
¹¹ Department of Social Sciences New York University Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi UAE.
¹² Faculty of Education Pristine University, Kosovo.
¹³ Department of Psychology De La Salle University Manila Philippines.
¹⁴ Department of Psychology University of Virginia Charlottesville Virginia USA.
¹⁵ Department of Psychology Thammasat University Bangkok Thailand.
¹⁶ Department of Psychology Sungkyunkwan University Seoul South Korea.
¹⁷ Department of Psychology Heriot Watt University Edinburgh Scotland.
¹⁸ Doctoral School of Psychology ELTE Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary.
¹⁹ Department of Psychology University of Belgrade Belgrade Serbia.
²⁰ Department of Psychology Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Kyiv Ukraine.
²¹ Department of Social Sciences International University of Business Agriculture and Technology Dhaka Bangladesh.
²² School of Psychology University of Kent Canterbury UK.
²³ Department of Psychology Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Iași Romania.
²⁴ Center for global Sea Level Change New York University Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi UAE.
²⁵ Marketing and Psychology Duke University Durham North Carolina USA.
²⁶ Center for European Studies, Faculty of Law Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Iași Romania.
²⁷ Social and Organizational Psychology Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia Madrid Spain.
²⁸ Psychology/ Research Unit Human Resources Development Setif 2 University Sétif Algeria.
²⁹ The School of Psychological Science University of Bristol Bristol UK.
³⁰ Psychology Department, College of Education Sultan Qaboos University Muscat Oman.
³¹ Psychology Department Faculty of Arts, Menoufia University Shebin El-Kom Egypt.
³² Department of Psychology Universitas Indonesia Kota Depok Indonesia.
³³ Department of Psychology National Chung-Cheng University Chiayi Taiwan.
³⁴ Department of Psychology University of Novi Sad Novi Sad Serbia.
³⁵ Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Zagreb Zagreb Croatia.
³⁶ Department of Social Psychology ELTE Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary.
³⁷ Division of Social Science Yale-NUS College Singapore Singapore.
³⁸ Department of Psychology HCMC University of Education Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam.
³⁹ Independent researcher Kazakhstan.
⁴⁰ Department of Psychology University of Maryland College Park Maryland USA.
⁴¹ Department of Psychology Durham University Durham UK.
⁴² Department of Psychiatry Udayana University Kuta Selatan Indonesia.
⁴³ School of Psychology University of Queensland Brisbane Australia.
⁴⁴ Department of Psychology University of Limerick Limerick Ireland.
⁴⁵ Department of Psychology University of Sheffield Sheffield UK.
⁴⁶ Department of Psychology Carleton University Ottawa Ontario Canada.
⁴⁷ Mass Communication Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto Sokoto Nigeria.
⁴⁸ Department of Psychology Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers Florida USA.
⁴⁹ Department of Psychology University of Cordoba Córdoba Spain.
⁵⁰ Department of Psychology University of Peshawar Peshawar Pakistan.
⁵¹ Department of Psychology Islamic Azad University, Rasht Branch Rasht Iran.
⁵² Department of Management and Organisation National University of Singapore Business School Singapore Singapore.
⁵³ Department of Political Science and Administration National Distance Education University (UNED) Madrid Spain.
⁵⁴ Department of Psychology HSE University Moscow Russia.
⁵⁵ Graduate School of Management NUCB Business School Nagoya Japan.
⁵⁶ School of Law University of Camerino Camerino Italy.
⁵⁷ Research Institute Social Cohesion, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence, Department of Social Psychology University of Bielefeld Bielefeld Germany.
⁵⁸ Department of Developmental Psychology University of Groningen Groningen Netherlands.
⁵⁹ Department of Educational, Humanities and Intercultural Communication University of Siena Siena Italy.
⁶⁰ Psychology University of Exeter Exeter UK.
⁶¹ Faculty of Economics and Business University of Groningen Groningen Netherlands.
⁶² School of Liberal Arts M. Narikbayev KAZGUU University Nur-Sultan Kazakhstan.
⁶³ Department of Psychology New York University Shanghai Shanghai China.
⁶⁴ Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences University of Amsterdam Amsterdam Netherlands.
⁶⁵ Department of Psychology King Saud University Riyadh Saudi Arabia.
⁶⁶ Department of Public Health California State University San Francisco California USA.
⁶⁷ Graduate School of Humanities Nagoya University Nagoya Japan.
⁶⁸ Institute of Governance and Global Affairs Leiden University Leiden Netherlands.
⁶⁹ Department of Methodology & Statistics Utrecht University Utrecht Netherlands.
⁷⁰ Sustainable Society University of Groningen Groningen Netherlands.
⁷¹ Department of Psychology University of Georgia Athens Georgia.
⁷² Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale et Cognitive Université Clermont-Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand France.
⁷³ Department of Applied Psychology Lingnan University Tuen Mun Hong Kong.
⁷⁴ Ageing Epidemiology Research Unit, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine Imperial College London London UK.
⁷⁵ Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence (IKG) Bielefeld University Bielefeld Germany.
⁷⁶ Department of Psychology Universidad de Chile Santiago Chile.

PMID: 34898961
PMCID: PMC8653108
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 et al. J Community Appl Soc Psychol. 2022 Mar-Apr.

. 2022 Mar-Apr;32(2):332-347.

doi: 10.1002/casp.2572. Epub 2021 Oct 8.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Developmental and Social Psychology Sapienza University of Rome Rome Italy.
² Department of Psychology University of Groningen Groningen Netherlands.
³ Department of Psychology New York University Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi UAE.
⁴ Laboratory of Psychology, Department of Early Childhood Education University of Thessaly Volos Greece.
⁵ Department of Psychology International Islamic University Malaysia Selangor Malaysia.
⁶ Pedagogy Pristine University, Kosovo.
⁷ Business Administration Department Ankara Science University Ankara Turkey.
⁸ Faculty of Health Science Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas Santiago de Surco Peru.
⁹ Department of Psychology University of Sargodha Sargodha Pakistan.
¹⁰ Department of Psychology Sabanci University Istanbul Turkey.
¹¹ Department of Social Sciences New York University Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi UAE.
¹² Faculty of Education Pristine University, Kosovo.
¹³ Department of Psychology De La Salle University Manila Philippines.
¹⁴ Department of Psychology University of Virginia Charlottesville Virginia USA.
¹⁵ Department of Psychology Thammasat University Bangkok Thailand.
¹⁶ Department of Psychology Sungkyunkwan University Seoul South Korea.
¹⁷ Department of Psychology Heriot Watt University Edinburgh Scotland.
¹⁸ Doctoral School of Psychology ELTE Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary.
¹⁹ Department of Psychology University of Belgrade Belgrade Serbia.
²⁰ Department of Psychology Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Kyiv Ukraine.
²¹ Department of Social Sciences International University of Business Agriculture and Technology Dhaka Bangladesh.
²² School of Psychology University of Kent Canterbury UK.
²³ Department of Psychology Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Iași Romania.
²⁴ Center for global Sea Level Change New York University Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi UAE.
²⁵ Marketing and Psychology Duke University Durham North Carolina USA.
²⁶ Center for European Studies, Faculty of Law Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Iași Romania.
²⁷ Social and Organizational Psychology Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia Madrid Spain.
²⁸ Psychology/ Research Unit Human Resources Development Setif 2 University Sétif Algeria.
²⁹ The School of Psychological Science University of Bristol Bristol UK.
³⁰ Psychology Department, College of Education Sultan Qaboos University Muscat Oman.
³¹ Psychology Department Faculty of Arts, Menoufia University Shebin El-Kom Egypt.
³² Department of Psychology Universitas Indonesia Kota Depok Indonesia.
³³ Department of Psychology National Chung-Cheng University Chiayi Taiwan.
³⁴ Department of Psychology University of Novi Sad Novi Sad Serbia.
³⁵ Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Zagreb Zagreb Croatia.
³⁶ Department of Social Psychology ELTE Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary.
³⁷ Division of Social Science Yale-NUS College Singapore Singapore.
³⁸ Department of Psychology HCMC University of Education Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam.
³⁹ Independent researcher Kazakhstan.
⁴⁰ Department of Psychology University of Maryland College Park Maryland USA.
⁴¹ Department of Psychology Durham University Durham UK.
⁴² Department of Psychiatry Udayana University Kuta Selatan Indonesia.
⁴³ School of Psychology University of Queensland Brisbane Australia.
⁴⁴ Department of Psychology University of Limerick Limerick Ireland.
⁴⁵ Department of Psychology University of Sheffield Sheffield UK.
⁴⁶ Department of Psychology Carleton University Ottawa Ontario Canada.
⁴⁷ Mass Communication Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto Sokoto Nigeria.
⁴⁸ Department of Psychology Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers Florida USA.
⁴⁹ Department of Psychology University of Cordoba Córdoba Spain.
⁵⁰ Department of Psychology University of Peshawar Peshawar Pakistan.
⁵¹ Department of Psychology Islamic Azad University, Rasht Branch Rasht Iran.
⁵² Department of Management and Organisation National University of Singapore Business School Singapore Singapore.
⁵³ Department of Political Science and Administration National Distance Education University (UNED) Madrid Spain.
⁵⁴ Department of Psychology HSE University Moscow Russia.
⁵⁵ Graduate School of Management NUCB Business School Nagoya Japan.
⁵⁶ School of Law University of Camerino Camerino Italy.
⁵⁷ Research Institute Social Cohesion, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence, Department of Social Psychology University of Bielefeld Bielefeld Germany.
⁵⁸ Department of Developmental Psychology University of Groningen Groningen Netherlands.
⁵⁹ Department of Educational, Humanities and Intercultural Communication University of Siena Siena Italy.
⁶⁰ Psychology University of Exeter Exeter UK.
⁶¹ Faculty of Economics and Business University of Groningen Groningen Netherlands.
⁶² School of Liberal Arts M. Narikbayev KAZGUU University Nur-Sultan Kazakhstan.
⁶³ Department of Psychology New York University Shanghai Shanghai China.
⁶⁴ Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences University of Amsterdam Amsterdam Netherlands.
⁶⁵ Department of Psychology King Saud University Riyadh Saudi Arabia.
⁶⁶ Department of Public Health California State University San Francisco California USA.
⁶⁷ Graduate School of Humanities Nagoya University Nagoya Japan.
⁶⁸ Institute of Governance and Global Affairs Leiden University Leiden Netherlands.
⁶⁹ Department of Methodology & Statistics Utrecht University Utrecht Netherlands.
⁷⁰ Sustainable Society University of Groningen Groningen Netherlands.
⁷¹ Department of Psychology University of Georgia Athens Georgia.
⁷² Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale et Cognitive Université Clermont-Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand France.
⁷³ Department of Applied Psychology Lingnan University Tuen Mun Hong Kong.
⁷⁴ Ageing Epidemiology Research Unit, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine Imperial College London London UK.
⁷⁵ Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence (IKG) Bielefeld University Bielefeld Germany.
⁷⁶ Department of Psychology Universidad de Chile Santiago Chile.

PMID: 34898961
PMCID: PMC8653108
DOI: 10.1002/casp.2572

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. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Keywords: COVID‐19; intention to help; societal discontent.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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

Affiliations

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

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources