The study found that personality did predict sheltering-in-place compliance. All traits [Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism] were positively related to sheltering in place except extraversion, which was negatively related.
“These [extraverted] people need attention and will seek it,” Crossley said. “They will seek others and may take unnecessary risks to do it. They fear the depression they may encounter if they are away from others. If they have family or friends on lockdown with them it is a bit easier, but they need new experiences so it will be hard for them to keep a distance and not go hit up activities where they are close to others.”
There was also a positive relationship between policy stringency and sheltering in place. While there was little effect of conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness, researchers found that openness and neuroticism had stronger effects on sheltering-in-place when the government had imposed less strict conditions and weaker effects when there were stricter guidelines in place.
“The defining characteristics of openness and neuroticism may suggest that individuals scoring higher on these traits may have started sheltering-in-place before it was mandated by governmental policy.
Put differently, there appear to be good reasons to assume that openness and neuroticism may have been relevant in the very beginning of the pandemic but decreased in importance once governmental intervention transformed the adoption of such behaviors from largely individual decisions to all-encompassing social norms,” as written in the study.
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Overall, policy stringency and personality had similar or greater effects on compliance than age, gender, income, education, personal health, and perceived/anticipated COVID-19 severity. While the differences were particularly small, when added up they can really matter.
