How Ethical Ideology Influences Mask-Wearing Intention in a Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Moral Norms and Threat to Freedom

Abstract

The present study examined how two types of ethical ideologies (idealism, and relativism) influenced behavioral intention to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic through two appraisals (moral norms, and threat to freedom) of a mask-wearing issue. A total of 823 responses were collected through a cross-sectional survey, and 776 responses were used for testing hypotheses. The study found that idealism has a significant indirect effect on behavioral intention through increased moral norms and decreased threat to freedom. Also, the study revealed that relativism has a significant indirect effect on behavioral intention through increased threat to freedom.

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a startup grant from the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2023.2203684.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University.