How perceived scarcity predicted cooperation during early pandemic lockdown

Claudia Civai; Marta Caserotti; Elisa Carrus; Inge Huijsmans; Enrico Rubaltelli

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.951757

How perceived scarcity predicted cooperation during early pandemic lockdown

Front Psychol. 2022 Oct 10:13:951757. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.951757. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Claudia Civai¹, Marta Caserotti², Elisa Carrus¹, Inge Huijsmans³, Enrico Rubaltelli²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, London, United Kingdom.
² Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Facolta' di Psicologia, Universita' degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy.
³ Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Donders Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Abstract

Both material resources (jobs, healthcare), and socio-psychological resources (social contact) decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated whether individual differences in perceived material and socio-psychological scarcity experienced during the pandemic predicted preference for cooperation, measured using two Public Good Games (PGGs), where participants contributed money or time (i.e., hours indoors contributed to shorten the lockdown). Material scarcity had no relationship with cooperation. Increased perceived scarcity of socio-psychological wellbeing (e.g., connecting with family) predicted increased preference for cooperation, suggesting that missing social contact fosters prosociality, whilst perceived scarcity of freedom (e.g., limited movement) predicted decreased willingness to spend time indoors to shorten the lockdown. The importance of considering individual differences in scarcity perception to best promote norm compliance is discussed.

Keywords: cooperation; pandemic lockdown; prosociality; scarcity; social norms.