Coronavirus: Mask refusal is linked to sociopathy study shows

People who show signs of narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy are also more likely to trivialise COVID-19 risks.

Anti-mask protesters in the US.

People who refuse to follow rules on wearing face masks are more likely to have malevolent sociopathic traits, a study suggests.

Individuals who showed signs of the so-called dark-triad of personality traits — narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy — were also more likely to trivialise the risks posed by COVID-19 and to avoid regular handwashing and social distancing.

Researchers from Brazil asked about 1600 volunteers to fill in two questionnaires often used by psychologists to assess empathy and expose personality disorders. They also asked them about their attitudes on rules and guidelines designed to contain the virus.

They then divided their subjects into two groups. About 1200 people qualified for an “empathy group": those who had displayed an interest in understanding other people’s feelings and motivations. These people also tended to be interested in “developing positive social interactions” with others.

The second group, with about 400 people, had shown signs of anti-social tendencies. These people tended to look for ways in which their interactions with others could benefit them personally. They were more likely to feel “socially detached” and to engage in hostile behaviour.

Bunnings staff have been praised on social media for the way they dealt with a 'Karen' who refused to wear a face mask in a Melbourne store. pic.twitter.com/hUcm0oCu75

— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) July 27, 2020

They were also less likely to follow rules designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

The research found those who scored higher on measures of callousness, deceitfulness, hostility, impulsivity, manipulativeness and risk-taking tended to be less compliant with social distancing, frequent hand washing and wearing face masks in public.

They also tended to minimise the seriousness of the pandemic. The results were published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

“Our findings indicated that anti-social traits, especially lower levels of empathy and higher levels of callousness, deceitfulness and risk-taking, are directly associated with lower compliance with containment measures,” the researchers write.

“These traits explain, at least partially, the reason why people continue not adhering to the containment measures even with increasing numbers of cases and deaths. Exposing oneself and others to risk, even when it can be avoided, is a typical trait for people with anti-social tendencies and with low levels of empathy.”

Smaller studies in Denmark, Poland and the US also found a link between anti-social personality traits and a determination to ignore safety codes.

Fabiano Migue, of the Universidade Estadual de Londrina, who led the research, said that the findings had to be approached with some caution. “We cannot state that if a person chooses not to wear a face mask, the only reason is because they are a sociopath,” he said. “Although this is possible, there are likely other factors involved.”

Brazil, where President Bolsonaro has been sceptical about the value of wearing masks, has recorded 3.7 million coronavirus cases. That places it second only to the United States. More than 114,000 people have died of the virus in Brazil.

Dr Migue: said “People are not changing their habits. It may be an explanation as to why the number of cases in Brazil is still not reducing.”

The Times