Pro-Environmental Attitudes, Altruism, and COVID-19 Risk Management Behavior
Limiting the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic is a collective action problem that calls on individuals to act, not just for their benefit but also for the benefit of others in their community. Many environmental problems, especially climate change, share this same characteristic. In this study, we use a survey instrument to examine how pro-environmental attitudes and two types of altruism relate to the tendency to follow social distancing guidelines and limit voluntary social exposure during the pandemic. We find that pro-environmental behaviors predict a feeling of moral obligation to reduce COVID-19 risk and a lower level of voluntary social exposure. Voluntary, individual-level altruism has no relationship with social exposure. These findings point to important insights about the nuances in altruistic behavior. These insights may lead to essential guidance for public health and environmental messaging that respects and leverages the differences in voluntary, individual-level altruism and collective altruism.