Linking Personality to COVID-19 Concerns and Safety Behaviors: Meta-Analytic Investigations
With the spread of the COVID-19 virus leading to a worldwide pandemic, the prevention of biological invasion has become increasingly important. Knowledge on psychological and behavioral reactions from the COVID-19 pandemic can help manage future biosafety and biosecurity reactions and behaviors, potentially altering courses of future zoonotic diseases, epidemics, and pandemics. Generally, personality traits play a role in creating safe environments (Lee & Dalal, 2016). In this research, we sought to examine Big Five personality trait families’ relations to the beliefs, concerns, attitudes, and safety behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerns and safety behaviors around health, hygiene, mobility, disruptions, were examined. Personality’s relations to conspiracies were also investigated. The results of this meta-analysis found evidence COVID-19 attitudes, beliefs, concerns, perhaps most importantly, safety behaviors are in part shaped by personality.