The prosocial phenotype and co-operative health protective behaviors: Insights from COVID-19.

Mills, Richard; Di Angelantonio, Emanuele; Wetherall, Karen; Cleare, Seonaid; Masser, Barbara; McClelland, Heather; Melson, Ambrose J; Niedzwiedz, Claire; O'Connor, Daryl B; O'Carroll, Ronan; Robb, Kathryn A; Scowcroft, Elizabeth; Watson, Billy; Wood, Angela; Zortea, Tiago; O'Connor, Rory; Desai, Roshan; Brailsford, Susan R; Ferguson, Eamonn

The prosocial phenotype and co-operative health protective behaviors: Insights from COVID-19.

Authors

Mills, Richard

Di Angelantonio, Emanuele

Publisher

American Psychological Association (APA)
https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0001561

Description

OBJECTIVE: Identifying factors associated with co-operative health-protective behaviors (e.g., vaccination and social distancing) is critical during crises requiring collective action. This research examines two hypotheses in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: (a) the situational-strength hypothesis, which predicts that the impact of prosocial preferences on repeated low-cost co-operative actions (e.g., adherence to government guidelines) is moderated by situational ambiguity (e.g., clarity of guidelines); and (b) the vaccination-altruism hypothesis, predicting prosocial individuals are more likely to undertake high-cost co-operative actions (e.g., initial COVID-19 vaccination) due to other-regarding motives. METHOD: Study 1 (N = 2, 861) assessed four prosocial behaviors (blood donation, organ donor registration, monetary donation, and volunteering) and three classic co-operative games (dictator, trust, and public goods) to validate a prosocial-phenotype (PP) measure. Study 2 (N = 3, 077) utilized an eight-wave U.K. panel survey (March 2020-July 2021) to test the situational strength and vaccination-altruism hypotheses. RESULTS: Study 1 found that past prosocial behavior was significantly correlated with behavior in co-operative 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. CONCLUSION: Prosociality plays a dynamic role in influencing both low- and high-cost co-operative health protective behaviors, offering insights for public health strategies in future crises. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).