Boredom makes it difficult, but it helps to have a plan: Investigating adherence to social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic
In the wake of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), social distancing has become important for containing the pandemic and preventing a renewed spread of the virus. We investigated psychological factors that predict adherence to social distancing guidelines. In a two-part longitudinal study (N = 574), we assessed adherence and its difficulty twice, one week apart. At T1, participants either planned to deal with the difficulties of adherence (planning intervention) or not (control condition). We further measured individual differences in planning, self-control, and boredom. T2 adherence was higher in the planning intervention, when participants intended to use plans. Trait planning was associated with higher T1 and T2 adherence and mitigated negative effects of T1 difficulty. Analogous effects emerged for trait self-control at T1. Trait boredom was associated with higher difficulty at T1 and T2 without directly affecting adherence. Our results are relevant for designing effective measures in prolonged responses to COVID-19.