Class differences in gratitude and entitlement drive response to COVID-19 measures

Abstract

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, strict government interventions in China have been implemented for more than 3 years as of 2023. How do people of high or low social class respond to the prolonged COVID-19 measures? Recent evidence has yielded inconsistent conclusions. In this study, we move beyond such debate and focus on the underlying motives that are closely related to both social class and COVID-19 measure responses. Using a large Chinese sample (N = 1193, 48.50% women, M_age = 30.92 years, SD = 6.08), we found that participants with higher (vs. lower) social class, whether subjective or objective, reported greater gratitude, which in turn increased their willingness to support COVID-19 measures (i.e. greater public health support and self-prevention behaviour, and less pandemic burnout). However, those with higher (vs. lower) subjective social class also reported more psychological entitlement, which decreased their willingness to support COVID-19 measures (i.e. less public health support and greater pandemic burnout). These findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of how social class may influence people's response to COVID-19 measures.