Self-controlled responses to COVID-19: Self-control and uncertainty predict responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two online studies (Total N = 331) tested the hypothesis that individual differences in self-control and responses to uncertainty would predict adherence to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2020a) guidelines, reported stockpiling, and intentions to engage in hedonic behavior in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trait self-control (b = 0.27, p = .015), desire for self-control (Study 1: b = 0.28, p = .001; Study 2: b = 0.27, p = .005), and cognitive uncertainty (b = 0.73, p < .001) predicted more CDC adherence. State self-control (Study 1: b = -0.15, p = .012; Study 2: b = -0.26, p < .001) predicted less stockpiling, whereas emotional uncertainty (b = 0.56, p < .001) and cognitive uncertainty (b = 0.61, p < .001) predicted more stockpiling. State self-control (b = -0.18, p = .003) predicted less hedonic behavior, whereas desire for self-control (b = 0.42, p < .001) and emotional uncertainty (b = 0.26, p = .018) predicted more hedonic behavior. Study 2 (pre-registered) also found that emotional uncertainty predicted more stockpiling and hedonic behavior for participants low in state self-control (stockpiling: b = -0.31, p < .001; hedonic behavior: b = 0.28, p = .025), but not for participants high in state self-control (stockpiling: b = 0.03, p = .795; hedonic behavior: b = -0.24, p = .066). These findings provide evidence that some forms of self-control and uncertainty influenced compliance with behavioral recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02066-y.

Interpersonal consequences of legal handgun carrying on college campuses.

Objective: This study assessed whether college students felt less safe or were less likely to work with another student when they thought the person they would work with was carrying a handgun than when they did not. Participants: Seventy participants were recruited from a public US university where campus carry was legal. Methods: Participants were led to believe a confederate was carrying a handgun or not. Participants' perceived safety and willingness to work with others was assessed. Results: No difference was found in participants' perceived safety. Participants who believed another student was carrying a concealed handgun reported they would be less likely to perform certain tasks with the handgun carrier than they would with the non-carrier. Conclusions: People do not feel less safe around a handgun-carrying confederate and that allowing concealed handguns on campus might affect handgun carriers' interpersonal interactions with others in suboptimal ways.