Historical rice farming explains faster mask use during early days of China's COVID-19 outbreak

Alexander Scott English; Thomas Talhelm; Rongtian Tong; Xiaoyuan Li; Yan Su

doi:10.1016/j.cresp.2022.100034

Historical rice farming explains faster mask use during early days of China's COVID-19 outbreak

Curr Res Ecol Soc Psychol. 2022:3:100034. doi: 10.1016/j.cresp.2022.100034. Epub 2022 Jan 16.

Authors

Alexander Scott English¹, Thomas Talhelm², Rongtian Tong³, Xiaoyuan Li⁴, Yan Su⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University; Hangzhou, China.
² Behavioral Science, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago; Chicago, USA.
³ Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington; Seattle, USA.
⁴ Intercultural Institute, Shanghai International Studies University; Shanghai, China.

Abstract

In the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, we observed mask use in public among 1,330 people across China. People in regions with a history of farming rice wore masks more often than people in wheat regions. Cultural differences persisted after taking into account objective risk factors such as local COVID cases. The differences fit with the emerging theory that rice farming's labor and irrigation demands made societies more interdependent, with tighter social norms. Cultural differences were strongest in the ambiguous, early days of the pandemic, then shrank as masks became nearly universal (94%). Separate survey and internet search data replicated this pattern. Although strong cultural differences lasted only a few days, research suggests that acting just a few days earlier can reduce deaths substantially.

Keywords: COVID-19; China; Coronavirus; Mask Use; Norm tightness; Rice farming.