How local partisan context conditions prosocial behaviors: Mask wearing during COVID-19.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: National Academy of Sciences Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 7505876 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1091-6490 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00278424 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: Washington, DC : National Academy of Sciences
    • Subject Terms:
      Altruism* ; COVID-19*/epidemiology ; COVID-19*/prevention & control ; Masks* ; Politics*; COVID-19 Vaccines ; Humans ; Mass Behavior ; United States ; Vaccination/psychology
    • Abstract:
      Does local partisan context influence the adoption of prosocial behavior? Using a nationwide survey of 60,000 adults and geographic data on over 180 million registered voters, we investigate whether neighborhood partisan composition affects a publicly observable and politicized behavior: wearing a mask. We find that Republicans are less likely to wear masks in public as the share of Republicans in their zip codes increases. Democratic mask wearing, however, is unaffected by local partisan context. Consequently, the partisan gap in mask wearing is largest in Republican neighborhoods, and less apparent in Democratic areas. These effects are distinct from other contextual effects such as variations in neighborhood race, income, or education. In contrast, partisan context has significantly reduced influence on unobservable public health recommendations like COVID-19 vaccination and no influence on nonpoliticized behaviors like flu vaccination, suggesting that differences in mask wearing reflect the publicly observable and politicized nature of the behavior instead of underlying differences in dispositions toward medical care.
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    • Grant Information:
      UL1 TR001881 United States TR NCATS NIH HHS
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: COVID-19; masks; partisanship; social norms; vaccines
    • Accession Number:
      0 (COVID-19 Vaccines)
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20220517 Date Completed: 20220519 Latest Revision: 20240214
    • Publication Date:
      20240214
    • Accession Number:
      PMC9173782
    • Accession Number:
      10.1073/pnas.2116311119
    • Accession Number:
      35580181