Individual-Community Misalignment in Partisan Identity Predicts Distancing From Norms During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study investigated whether misalignment between an individual and their community in partisan identity predicted psychological and behavioral distancing from local COVID-19 norms. A nationally representative sample of Republicans and Democrats provided longitudinal data in April (N = 3,492) and June 2020 (N = 2,649). Democrats in Republican communities reported especially heightened better-than-average estimates, perceiving themselves as more adherent to and approving of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI; e.g., mask wearing) than their community. Democrats'better-than-average estimates reflected high approval and behavior in Republican communities and substantial norm underestimation. Republicans in Democratic communities did not evidence worse-than-average estimates. In longitudinal models, injunctive norms only predicted NPI behavior when individual and community partisan identity were aligned. The strong personal approval-behavior association did not depend on misalignment; there were no effects of descriptive norms. Normative messages may have limited efficacy for a sizable subpopulation in politically polarized contexts, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The role of psychological research in understanding and responding to links between climate change and conflict.

The impact of climate change on social conflict and violence is of increasing concern. The significant risk that climate change poses for human conflict has driven scholars to investigate the processes underlying the relationship. Although climate change may not directly cause conflict, heat waves and extreme weather events could amplify interpersonal violence, and climate change consequences (i.e. economic deprivation and migration) could also intensify intergroup conflict. However, psychological research is weakly integrated with this literature, and interdisciplinary efforts are needed to uncover the underpinnings of the relationship between climate change and conflict. In particular, psychological research on intergroup threat, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and culture can provide valuable insights into understanding and responding to climate-induced conflict.