Who Cares If Not Supposed To? Moral Foundations, Consideration of Immediate Consequences, and Mask-Wearing Intentions After Revocation of the Legal Obligation To Do So

TL;DR

This study explores how moral values and gender influence people's intentions to wear masks after the legal requirement was lifted in Poland.

Contribution

The study reveals how individualizing and binding moral foundations interact with gender to predict mask-wearing intentions post-policy change.

Findings

Individualizing moral foundations and being female predicted higher mask-wearing intentions after the legal requirement was revoked.

Lower binding moral foundations and consideration of immediate consequences increased the effect of individualizing moral foundations on mask-wearing.

For past mask refusal, male gender, binding moral foundations, and immediate consequences were positive predictors, while individualizing moral foundations were negative.

Abstract

After two years of obligation to wear masks during the pandemic, in March 2022, the legal requirement was revoked for public spaces (except for medical facilities) in Poland. The aim of the study was to find out how individualizing moral foundations (focused on avoiding harm to others and concern for justice) shaped the intention to wear masks despite the revocation and how binding moral foundations (concentrated on respect for authorities, loyalty to the ingroup, and purity) and consideration of immediate consequences modify this relationship. For exploratory purposes, the same model was also tested for a retrospective declaration about the refusal to wear protective masks when legally required to do so. In both models, gender was controlled. N = 557 people from the general population participated in the online survey. Results showed that in the case of intention to wear masks after the obligation was revoked, individualizing moral foundations and female gender were positive predictors.

The lower the binding moral foundations and consideration of immediate consequences, the higher the effect of individualizing moral foundations. No interaction effects were found for a retrospective declaration of participants refusing to wear masks during the pandemic. However, positive predictors were male gender, binding moral foundations, and consideration of immediate consequences, whereas individualizing moral foundations were a negative predictor. The results suggest morality plays a role in forming health-related communication. Men should be targeted in order to enhance their acceptance of preventive measures.

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