I think the scientific term for them is asshole (Editor)
By UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO
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The research revealed that while those with
high levels of openness and agreeableness were more likely to get vaccinated,
extroverts were 18% more likely to refuse. These findings can aid in tailoring
future public health messages based on personality traits.
During the height of the pandemic, which
personality types were more reluctant to get the COVID-19 vaccine?
Extroverts — according to a new study on more than 40,000 Canadians.
“We expected that people who were especially high in extroversion would be more likely to get the vaccine,” said Melissa Baker, Ph.D., lead author and assistant professor at The University of Texas at El Paso. “We figured those people would want to get back out in the world and socialize, right? It’s actually the opposite.”
Implications for Future Health Messaging
The findings, published in the
journal Frontiers in Psychology, can help with future public health
messaging and vaccination campaigns, according to the team of scientists, based
at UTEP and the University of Toronto. It also offers a unique perspective in
vaccine hesitancy research, a field that has largely focused on political
affiliation.
“We wanted to look at vaccine hesitancy a
different way,” Baker said. “Of course, politics can help explain some of it,
but there are personal differences between people, too — and that led us to
this personality aspect.”
Survey Methodology and Results
The study is based on surveys of more than
40,000 Canadian adults, taken between November 2020 and July 2021. Online
questions evaluated each participant’s personality, based on a model known as
the “big five,” which gauges an individual’s openness, conscientiousness,
extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability.
Additional questions probed how respondents
felt about vaccination. One question, for example, asked, “When a COVID-19
vaccine becomes available, will you be vaccinated?” As the vaccine rollout
began, questions were altered to reflect their availability.
Most of the team’s hypotheses were supported.
For instance, people who were more open and agreeable were more likely to get
the vaccine.
“Those are the kind of people who are open to
new things, new information, and just like to go with the flow,” Baker said.
“We also expected that for people with high conscientiousness because they are
detail-oriented and big planners.”
On the other hand, those with low emotional
stability — or those who experience extreme emotions — were less likely to be
vaccinated. And extroverts, to their surprise, were 18 percent more likely to
refuse the vaccine.
Applications for Future Health Campaigns
While the pandemic is over, the team said the
findings could help with future public health messaging strategies for
vaccination from various diseases, not just COVID-19.
Baker explained, “If we know you need to
reach a certain type of personality, we can think about the message that will
actually reach and persuade that person.”
Reference: “Dynamic role of personality in
explaining COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and refusal” by Melissa N. Baker and Eric
Merkley, 15 June 2023, Frontiers in Psychology.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1163570
