Emotions, reasoning, and mental health as predictors of behavior during three phases of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has required people worldwide to adjust their behavior for several months in response to a crisis of rare proportions. Little is known about the specific factors that affected the progression of the public’s reactions during the pandemic. Individual factors associated with pandemic-related behavior in general, and compliance with public health measures in particular, are not firmly established. We undertook a survey of behavior, emotions, reasoning style, and mental health in the province of Quebec at the beginning, the peak, and the aftermath of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We recruited 530 responders from a convenience sample; 154 responders participated in all three surveys. Emotions were most intense at the beginning of the first wave of the pandemic, not at its peak. Responders’ compliance with three public health measures decreased between the peak and the aftermath of the first wave of the pandemic; however, mask wearing also became more common. Pandemic-related behavior in general, and compliance with public health measures specifically, were predicted by avoidance-related emotions evoked by the pandemic. Approach-related emotions linked to the societal response contributed specifically to the prediction of compliance with public health measures. In contrast, reasoning style and mental health did not as consistently predict behavior during the pandemic. Our research may help inform public health policy during other waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and future global health crises.