The Prosocial Phenotype and Cooperative Health Protective Behaviors: Insights from COVID-19

Citation

Mills R, Di Angelantonio E, Wetherall K, Cleare S, Masser B, Mcclelland H, Melson AJ, Niedzwiedz C, O'Connor DB, O'Carroll R, Scowcroft E, Watson B, Wood A, Zortea T, O'connor R, Desai R, Brailsford SR & Ferguson E (2025) The Prosocial Phenotype and Cooperative Health Protective Behaviors: Insights from COVID-19. O'Carroll R (Researcher) Health Psychology.

Abstract
Objectives: Identifying factors associated with cooperative health-protective behaviors (e.g., vaccination, social distancing) is critical during crises requiring collective action. This research examines two hypotheses in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: (i) the situational-strength hypothesis, which predicts that the impact of prosocial preferences on repeated low-cost cooperative actions (e.g., adherence to government guidelines) is moderated by situational ambiguity (e.g., clarity of guidelines); and (ii) the vaccination73 altruism hypothesis, predicting prosocial individuals are more likely to undertake high-cost cooperative actions (e.g., initial COVID-19 vaccination) due to other-regarding motives. Methods: Study 1 (N=2,861) assessed four prosocial behaviors (blood donation, organ donor registration,monetary donation, volunteering) and three classic cooperative games (dictator, trust, public goods) to validate a prosocial-phenotype (PP) measure. Study 2 (N=3,077) utilized an eight-wave UK panel survey (March 2020–July 2021) to test the situational strength and vaccine altruism hypotheses. Results: Study 1 found that past prosocial behavior was significantly correlated with behavior in cooperative games, supporting construction of the PP measure. In Study 2, higher PP, in line with the situational-strength hypothesis, was associated with greater adherence to guidelines, but only when rules were ambiguous. Higher PP was also associated with greater stated willingness and uptake of vaccination. Although self-protection was the most common motive to vaccinate, high-PP individuals were more likely to cite protecting others and achieving herd immunity. Conclusions: Prosociality plays a dynamic role in influencing both low- and high-cost

Keywords
prosociality; prosocial phenotype; COVID-19; situational strength; vaccination-altruism

Notes
Additional authors: Rory O’Connor, Roshan Desai, Susan R. Brailsford, Eamonn Ferguson

Journal
Health Psychology

• The Prosocial Phenotype and Cooperative Health Protective Behaviors: Insights from 2 COVID-19