Delay discounting and under-valuing of recent information predict poorer adherence to social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented global changes in individual and collective behaviour. To reduce the spread of the virus, public health bodies have promoted social distancing measures while attempting to mitigate their mental health consequences. The current study aimed to identify cognitive predictors of social distancing adherence and mental health symptoms, using computational models derived from delay discounting (the preference for smaller, immediate rewards over larger, delayed rewards) and patch foraging (the ability to trade-off between exploiting a known resource and exploring an unknown one). In a representative sample of the UK population (N = 442), we find that steeper delay discounting predicted poorer adherence to social distancing measures and greater s

SUBMITTER: Lloyd A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8479072 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature