Demographic characteristics of participants.

The aim of this study was to develop and test a model of prosocial prevention behavior during COVID-19, termed the Moral Norms Activation Model (MNAM). This model examines how moral norms, influenced by awareness of consequences, predict prosocial prevention behaviors, such as mask-wearing, and the role of perceived severity and collective orientation as moderating factors. We conducted a survey during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic with a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults (N = 8,778). The survey measured awareness of consequences, moral norms, anticipated guilt, perceived severity, collective orientation, and self-reported mask-wearing behavior. A series of regressions was used to test the proposed model and interactions. Findings supported the MNAM, demonstrating that awareness of consequences was a significant direct predictor of moral norms. These moral norms, in turn, predicted prosocial prevention behavior, mediated by anticipated guilt. The moderating effects of perceived severity and collective orientation were also significant, reinforcing the strength of the association between moral norms and behavior in individuals with high collective orientation and greater perceived severity. The results highlight the critical role of moral norms and anticipated guilt in promoting prosocial health behaviors during a collective health crisis. The MNAM provides a novel framework for understanding how individual psychological processes contribute to public health behaviors. These findings suggest that public health campaigns emphasizing moral responsibility and awareness of consequences could enhance compliance with preventive measures.

本研究旨在开发并检验新冠疫情期间的亲社会预防行为模型，即道德规范激活模型（Moral Norms Activation Model, MNAM）。该模型探讨了受后果意识影响的道德规范如何预测戴口罩等亲社会预防行为，以及感知严重性与集体取向作为调节变量的作用。本研究在新冠疫情早期阶段开展了一项调查，调研对象为具有全国代表性的美国成年人群（N=8778）。该调查测量了后果意识、道德规范、预期愧疚感、感知严重性、集体取向以及自我报告的戴口罩行为。本研究采用一系列回归分析检验所提出的模型与交互效应。研究结果支持了道德规范激活模型，表明后果意识对道德规范具有显著的直接预测作用。这些道德规范又通过预期愧疚感的中介作用，预测亲社会预防行为。感知严重性与集体取向的调节效应同样显著，强化了高集体取向且感知严重性更高的个体中道德规范与行为之间的关联强度。研究结果凸显了道德规范与预期愧疚感在集体性公共卫生危机期间推动亲社会健康行为中的关键作用。道德规范激活模型为理解个体心理过程如何影响公共卫生行为提供了全新框架。本研究结果表明，强调道德责任与后果意识的公共卫生宣传活动，能够提升公众对防疫措施的依从性。