Negative attitudes towards COVID-19 preventive measures: psychological foundations and prospects for correction

Aim. The article examines the psychological foundations and prospects for changing attitudes towards COVID-19 preventive measures based on the results of modern research. Materials and methods. The review focuses on human behavior as a systemic and multilevel phenomenon. The Google Academy database was used for searching the literature on the subject. The following keywords were considered: preventive measures, social distancing, hygiene measures. Results. Three groups of predictors were identified showing responsible attitude towards COVID-19 preventive measures: stable (personality traits, values, cognitive features, cultural features); relatively stable (ideological beliefs, basic scientific knowledge, social I features, and group identity); dynamic (emotional state, attitudes and beliefs regarding the pandemic, including pandemic severity, subjective vulnerability, preventive measures, government institutions). Their influence on preventive measures was considered as both direct and indirect. The prospects for correcting negative attitudes towards COVID-19 preventive measures through information and psychological impact were considered. Two main strategies of such impact were identified: direct, which was aimed at attitudes and beliefs directly associated with preventive measures (their effectiveness, availability, etc.); indirect, which was focused on changing a wider range of attitudes and beliefs (perception of the pandemic, attitudes towards authorities, etc.). The patterns of information and psychological impact were analyzed. Conclusion. A variety of psychological grounds for negative attitudes towards COVID-19 preventive measurescomplicates the task of correcting such attitudes but does not make it impossible.