Framing COVID-19 as an existential threat predicts prejudice towards Chinese people via anxious arousal

Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that perceived existential threat stemming from COVID-19 elicits anxious arousal, which can manifest in prejudice toward the perceived source of the threat (Chinese people). Americans (n = 474) were randomly assigned to a condition in which COVID-19 was framed as a high existential threat to the United States or to a condition in which COVID-19 was framed as a low existential threat to the United States. They then completed self-report measures of anxious arousal as well as subtle and blatant prejudice towards Chinese people. As expected, participants in the high threat (vs. low threat) condition reported greater anxious arousal which, in turn, predicted greater subtle and blatant prejudice. The high threat (vs. low threat) condition also indirectly predicted greater subtle and blatant prejudice via greater anxious arousal. Results advance knowledge on the reactions people had to perceiving COVID-19 as an existential threat during the early phase of the pandemic.

Full text

Department of Psychology, Carleton
University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Correspondence
Nassim Tabri.
Email: nassim.tabri@carleton.ca
Funding information
Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada
Abstract
We tested the hypothesis that perceived existential threat
stemming from COVID-19 elicits anxious arousal, which can
manifest in prejudice toward the perceived source of the
threat (Chinese people). Americans (n = 474) were randomly
assigned to a condition in which COVID-19 was framed as a
high existential threat to the United States or to a condition
in which COVID-19 was framed as a low existential threat
to the United States. They then completed self-report meas-
ures of anxious arousal as well as subtle and blatant preju-
dice towards Chinese people. As expected, participants in
the high threat (vs. low threat) condition reported greater
anxious arousal which, in turn, predicted greater subtle and
blatant prejudice. The high threat (vs. low threat) condition
also indirectly predicted greater subtle and blatant preju-
dice via greater anxious arousal. Results advance knowledge
on the reactions people had to perceiving COVID-19 as an
existential threat during the early phase of the pandemic.
KEYWORDS
anxiety, Chinese, collective angst, COVID-19, existential threat,
prejudice
EMPIRICAL ARTICLE
Framing COVID-19 as an existential threat
predicts prejudice towards Chinese people via
anxious arousal
Nassim Tabri | Samantha J. Hollingshead | Michael J. A. Wohl
DOI: 10.1111/spc3.12804
Received: 11 January 2023 Revised: 13 May 2023 Accepted: 24 May 2023
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits
use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or
adaptations are made.
© 2023 The Authors. Social and Personality Psychology Compass published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Soc Personal Psychol Compass. 2023;e12804.
https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12804
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/spc3 1 of 9

TABRI et al.
To reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and resulting illness and death, public health officials implored people to
stay vigilant and engage in physical distancing (Roberts, 2020; The Economist, 2020). An unintended side-effect was
a great deal of anxiety inflicted on the world's population (Salari et al., 2020). This anxiety, we contend, took several
forms, including acute symptoms of anxiety (e.g., difficulty breathing; Bults et al., 2011; Marshall et al., 2012; Wheaton
et al., 2012) related to the virus, and existential anxiety at both the personal (e.g., “will I survive this pandemic?”; see
Scrima et al., 2022; Tomaszek & Muchacka-Cymerman et al., 2020) and group-level (i.e., concern about the future
vitality of a cherished group to which they belong or even humanity; see Tabri et al., 2018; Wohl et al., 2012). To test
this idea, we manipulated the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and hypothesized that when positioned as an
existential threat, anxious arousal would be induced.
We also examined a possible outcome of existential threat induced anxious arousal stemming from the COVID-
19 pandemic: prejudice. The emotional goal of anxiety is to alert the organism of impending danger and to engage
in self-protective action (Barlow, 1988; Becker, 1973/2007; Gray, 1982; Wohl et al., 2012), which may manifest in
prejudicial attitudes toward a perceived source of the threat (Schaller & Neuberg, 2012; Stefaniak & Wohl, 2022;
Tabri et al., 2018; Wohl et al., 2012). Indeed, affective states, such as anxiety, produce simplified information process-
ing, which has implications for the use of stereotypic, rather than individuating, information in social perception
(Bodenhausen, 1993; Kessler et al., 2010; Stephan & Stephan, 2000). At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,
former President Trump blamed China, framing the virus as the “Chinese virus” on 16 March 2020, via Twitter—a
situation that we, like others (Hswen et al., 2021), contend could heighten prejudice toward Chinese people.
Herein, we report the results of an experiment in which we hypothesized that people manipulated to think the
pandemic is an existential threat would express greater subtle and blatant prejudice towards Chinese people via
greater anxious arousal (assessed as a composite of acute anxiety symptoms, feelings of state anxiety, and collective
angst) relative to those in a control group. The research was conducted with a community sample of Americans on
27 February 2020, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak being declared a national emergency in the United States on 13
March 2020, and when the epicenters of the COVID-19 outbreak were in China and Europe (i.e., only a few presump-
tive cases were reported in the United States). The research is of import, in part, because data collection occurred
at the onset of the pandemic (February 2020). A time during which very little was known about how the virus would
affect humans (and humanity). All that was known was that it spread from China and was becoming a world-wide
pandemic, thus providing the conditions for both anxious arousal and prejudice toward Chinese people.
1 | METHOD
1.1 | Transparency statement
All research materials, statistical input and output files, and the analyzed data reported herein can be accessed via the
Open Science Framework (OSF): https://osf.io/82kbv/.
Note, the data analyzed in the current research were initially collected for another preregistered research project
focused on a related topic (see https://osf.io/u9wk8). After the data were collected, and in light of the rapidly evolving
COVID-19 situation, we realized we had data to test the hypothesis that formed the basis of the current paper. In
our haste to ascertain whether our hypothesis was supported, we neglected to preregister the new hypothesis or
conduct an a priori power analysis.
1.2 | Participants
Americans (N = 692) were recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk. They responded to a recruitment notice for a
survey titled “American's Opinion about China” and received US $0.75 for their time.
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TABRI et al.
Data from 218 participants were excluded because they did not complete any of the questionnaires (n = 78),
failed a comprehension check (n = 66), did not complete one or more of the post-manipulation questionnaires
(n = 37), were of Asian background (n = 31), had excessive missing data (n = 4), or did not consent to the use of their
data (n = 2). Thus, the final sample consisted of 474 participants (250 men and 224 women) who ranged in age from
19 to 76 (M = 37.32, SD = 11.33). Most participants identified as White/Caucasian (71.5%), close to a quarter identi-
fied as African American (21.1%), and few identified as Hispanic (5.9%), “Other” (1.1%), Latino (0.2%), and Indigenous
or aboriginal (0.2%).
1.3 | Procedure and materials
Upon granting consent, participants completed demographic items (e.g., age) and questionnaires included for explo-
ration that were not examined in the current research. Participants were then randomly assigned to read one of two
news articles about the threat of COVID-19 to the United States to experimentally manipulate anxious arousal. We
used the Cognitive Model of Anxiety (Beck et al., 1985; Clark & Beck, 2010; also see Tabri et al., 2018) to construct
the high and low threat conditions. In the Cognitive Model of Anxiety, appraisals of (1) the probability of harm to the
self due to the perceived threat, (2) the severity of harm to the self due to the perceived threat, and (3) self-efficacy
to contend with the perceived threat to the self additively increase anxiety. Anxiety is highest when people appraise
the probability of harm and severity of harm to be high, and their efficacy to stop the harm from coming to frui tion to
be low. Anxiety is lowest when people appraise the harm probability and harm severity to be low, and their perceived
efficacy to stop the harm from coming to fruition to be high. Based on the Cognitive Model of Anxiety, we constructed
the high threat condition such that harm probability and harm severity from COVID-19 was high, and efficacy to stop
the spread of the virus was low. In contrast, we constructed the low threat condition so that participants read that the
probability and severity of harm from COVID-19 was low, and efficacy to stop COVID-19 spread was high. Additional
information on the rationale for the manipulation is provided in the Supplement.
Consequently, in the high threat condition, participants read that Chinese travel to the United States would
increase and bring the coronavirus with it, which would severely harm the health and well-being of Americans. Addi-
tionally, they were told the United States would be unable to contain the coronavirus from spreading throughout
the United States. In the low threat condition, participants read that Chinese travel to the United States was on the
decline, which would slow the spread of the coronavirus to Americans. They were also told that the United States
would be able to contain the coronavirus, and thus it would cause little or no harm to the health and well-being of
Americans.
Thereafter, participants completed a comprehension check item (“in a few words, please tell us what the article
you just read was about”) followed by three manipulation check items that assessed harm probability (“how likely
you think that the prevalence of the Coronavirus in the US will increase in the near future”), harm severity (“how
harmful you think that the Coronavirus will be for the United States”), and collective efficacy (“how confident you are
in the ability of the United States to control the Coronavirus in the United States”). Responses to these items where
anchored at 0 (not at all) and 9 (highly likely). They then completed several questionnaires of which the following were
examined in the current research:
1.3.1 | Anxious arousal
The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI; Beck et al., 1988; α = 0.99), short-form of the State Scale from the Spielberger
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Marteau & Bekker, 1992; α = 0.65), and collective angst for the US (Wohl &
Branscombe, 2009; α = 0.77) were used to measure anxious arousal. The BAI measures 21 symptoms of acute anxi-
ety in the past month (e.g., “fear of dying”). The STAI includes six items of which three assessed positive emotions
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TABRI et al.
(calm, content, relaxed) and three assessed negative emotions (tense, upset, worried). The collective angst measure
included five items of which three assessed feelings that the future of the US was secure (e.g., “I feel secure about
the future of the US”) and two assessed concerns that the future of the US was in jeopardy (e.g., “I feel anxious about
the future of the United States”). For the BAI and STAI, responses were anchored at 1 (not at all) and 7 (extremely). For
collective angst, responses were anchored at 1 (strongly disagree) and 7 (strongly agree). Participants were instructed
to complete the BAI, STAI, and collective angst measures in response to reading the content of the article.
Psychometric analyses showed that a bifactor model of the BAI, STAI, and collective angst measures that
included one global factor and three sub factors provided the best fit to the data. All negatively valenced observed
items had high factor loadings on the global factor and had high internal consistency based on McDonald's Omega,
ω = 0.99. Thus, we used the factor scores from the global factor as our measure of anxious arousal. Detail about the
psychometric analyses and results (e.g., factor loadings, model comparisons) is available in the Supplement.
1.3.2 | Prejudice
Participants completed a 10-item scale that measured their subtle (e.g., “Chinese people are very different from
Americans in their hygienic habits”) and blatant (e.g., “Chinese people are a less abled race, which is why they are not
as well off as Americans”) prejudice towards Chinese people (adapted from Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995; Ungaretti
et al., 2018). Responses were anchored at 1 (strongly disagree) and 7 (strongly agree) and averaged such that higher
scores reflected greater subtle (α = 0.79) and blatant (α = 0.92) prejudice.
1.4 | Statistical analysis
A mediation model was estimated in which condition (0 = low threat, 1 = high threat) was the independent varia-
ble, anxious arousal was the mediator variable, and subtle and blatant prejudice were the dependent variables (see
Figure 1). Factor scores of the global factor obtained from the bifactor model were used as the mediator variable. The
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FIGURE 1 Effect of COVID-19 threat manipulation on prejudice towards Chinese people through its effect on
anxious arousal. Note. Regression coefficients are unstandardized.
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TABRI et al.
statistical significance of the indirect effects was evaluated using the 95% bias-corrected bootstrapped confidence
interval (CI) based on 5000 resamples. All analyses were conducted using Mplus version 8.2 (Muthén & Muthén,
1998–2017).
2 | RESULTS
2.1 | Manipulation check
Participants in the high threat condition (n = 241) reported a higher likelihood that the prevalence of COVID-19
would increase in the near future (M = 7.88, SD = 2.49) than those in the low threat condition (n = 231; M = 6.95,
SD = 2.94), t(470) = 3.70, p < 0.001, d = 0.34. Those in the high threat condition also reported greater harm to the
US from COVID-19 (M = 6.78, SD = 2.52) than those in the low threat condition (M = 6.19, SD = 2.83), t(469) = 2.42,
p = 0.02, d = 0.22. However, participants in the high threat (M = 6.96, SD = 2.55) and low threat (M = 7.30, SD = 2.62)
conditions did not differ in terms of their confidence in the ability of the US to control the spread of COVID-19 in
the US, t(470) = 1.43, p = 0.15. Thus, although perceived collective efficacy to control the spread of COVID-19 in
the US was moderate in both conditions, the threat manipulation was successful in terms of increasing the perceived
prevalence of COVID-19 in the US and that the presence of COVID-19 would severely harm the US population.
2.2 | Mediation model
Descriptive statistics and correlations between all measured variables and the global factor from the bifactor model
with three subfactors are in Table 1. The factor scores of the global factor were included in the analysis as the media-
tor variable. Direct effects from the mediation model are in Figure 1. Participants in the high threat condition reported
greater anxious arousal than did those in the low threat condition. This greater anxious arousal, in turn, predicted
more subtle and blatant prejudice toward Chinese people. Moreover, the indirect effect of the threat manipulation
on subtle prejudice towards Chinese people via greater anxious arousal was statistically significant, b = 0.08, 95%
CI [0.02, 0.16]. Likewise, the indirect effect of the threat manipulation on blatant prejudice towards Chinese people
via greater anxious arousal was statistically significant, b = 0.29, 95% CI [0.04, 0.53]. The model explained 1% of the
variance in anxious arousal, 9% of the variance in subtle prejudice, and 48% of the variance in blatant prejudice. Thus,
in line with our hypothesis, Americans who perceived COVID-19 as an existential threat reported more prejudice
towards Chinese people through increased anxious arousal.
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Variable M(SD) 1 234567
1. Condition 0.51(0.50) –
2. Acute symptoms of anxiety 1.17(1.68) 0.06 –
3. State anxiety 3.81(1.19) 0.25** 0.17** –
4. Collective angst 3.42(1.14) 0.19** 0.20** 0.50** –
5. Anxious arousal 0.00(0.99) 0.11* 0.96** 0.31** 0.42** –
6. Subtle prejudice 5.66(1.25) −0.02 0.31** −0.04 −0.04 0.30** –
7. Blatant prejudice 3.79(1.92) 0.03 0.73** −0.03 0.04 0.69** 0.50** –
Note
: Condition is coded 0 = low threat and 1 = high threat. The anxious arousal variable is the factor score of the general
factor from the bifactor model that included the Beck Anxiety Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the measure of
collective angst.
*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01. N = 474.
TABLE 1 Descriptive statistics and correlations between all variables.
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TABRI et al.
3 | DISCUSSION
Herein, we showed that when COVID-19 is perceived as an existential threat it can place people at risk for experienc-
ing anxious arousal. These findings are in line with research showing that greater exposure to media content about
terrorist threats (Bodas et al., 2015) or a virus outbreak (Thompson et al., 2017) is associated with greater distress
and elevated symptoms of acute anxiety. Also, consistent with our findings, longitudinal research has shown that
people who are concerned about COVID-19 in terms of harm to the self (e.g., being infected) and to society (e.g., low
coping ability of health services) are more likely to have or develop elevated anxiety symptoms over time (McPherson
et al., 2021). Taken together, the existential anxiety stemming from COVID-19 may have prognostic importance for
understanding the onset and maintenance of anxiety and stress-related disorders.
To construct the high and low threat conditions, we applied the Cognitive Model of Anxiety (Beck et al., 1985;
Clark & Beck, 2010). Specifically, in the high threat condition, the probability and severity of harm from COVID-19
was high, and efficacy to stop the spread was low. These were inverted in the low threat condition. However, we
did not vary each appraisal in the model (probably, severity, or efficacy) and thus were unable to assess whether any
one appraisal contributed to the observed effects to a greater extent than the others. That said, we do know that the
manipulation did not influence perceived efficacy of the US to control the spread of COVID-19. Participants in both
the high and low threat conditions believed that the US was equally capable of controlling the spread of COVID-19.
Thus, the observed effects were likely driven by between group differences in perceived harm probability and harm
severity. Additional research is needed to determine whether these appraisals uniquely contribute, interact, or addi-
tively influence downstream prejudice.
Anxious arousal also has social consequences. It leads to attitudes and action tendencies that are deemed capa-
ble of reducing or eliminating the existential threat (Barlow, 1988; Becker, 1973/2007; Wohl et al., 2020). Herein,
we showed one outcome of COVID-19 related anxious arousal is blatant prejudice against Chinese people. These
findings are consistent with previous research that has suggested that individuals who experience anxiety or fear
may be more likely to engage in discriminatory behaviors (Crandall & Eshleman, 2003). One implication of the current
research is thus an explication of why there was an upswing in negative attitudes toward Chinese people during the
COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., Brown & Marinthe, 2022). It may also help explain decrements in social capital (i.e., the
networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society; Putnam, 1995) observed during
the pandemic (Elgar et al., 2020), which can further degrade people's health and well-being (Elgar et al., 2011). One
way to help mitigate the negative consequences of pandemic-based prejudice is to disseminate information to the
general public about how and why people should feel less personally vulnerable to infection should they come into
contact with Chinese people or their compatriots of Asian descent (Wohl et al., 2012).
It is important to note that in the current research we only tested a single negative outcome of existential threat
induced anxious arousal (i.e., prejudice). However, it may also help explain, among other things, panic purchasing and
stockpiling of products (e.g., toilet paper, medicine; Taylor, 2021) that may result in shortages for those in need of
those products. As well, although we focused on a negative outcome of pandemic-related anxious arousal, it may
also motivate people to engage in constructive action (e.g., washing their hands with soap and water, and engaging
in social distancing; see Wong et al., 2020).
4 | CONCLUSION
We showed that experimentally induced COVID-19 existential threat causally evokes anxious arousal, which in turn
was positively correlated with subtle and blatant prejudice towards the perceived source of the threat (i.e., Chinese
people). Results also indicated that experimentally induced COVID-19 existential threat indirectly increased prej-
udice via greater anxious arousal. Together, the findings shed light on how the COVID-19 existential threat may
degrade mental health and societal well-being.
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TABRI et al.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The research was supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada research grant to Tabri
[430- 2019-00941] and to Wohl [435-2012-1135].
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
ORCID
Nassim Tabri https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7085-9350
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AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES
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Dr. Nassim Tabri is an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University.
He is also the Director of the Mental Health and Addictions Laboratory. He has two key lines of research. The
first investigates how different transdiagnostic factors (e.g., overvalued ideation, perfectionism, and impulsivity)
may function together to proliferate and maintain engagement in various health compromising behaviors (with
a focus on disordered eating and gambling). The second investigates how group membership and social identity
may affect our mental health and well-being.
Dr. Samantha J. Hollingshead recently received her PhD in Psychology from Carleton University in Ottawa,
Canada. Her research primarily focuses on assessing factors that promote responsible health behaviors and
addiction prevention. As a secondary line of research, she also examines intergroup conflict resolution and the
antecedents and consequences of intergroup prejudice.
17519004, 0, Downloaded from https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/spc3.12804 by Cochrane Canada Provision, Wiley Online Library on [13/06/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License

TABRI et al.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information can be found online in the Supporting Information section at the end of this
article.
How to cite this article: Tabri, N., Hollingshead, S. J., & Wohl, M. J. A. (2023). Framing COVID-19 as an
existential threat predicts prejudice towards Chinese people via anxious arousal. Social and Personality
Psychology Compass, e12804. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12804
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Dr. Michael J. A. Wohl is a Professor and Graduate Chair in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University.
He is the Director of the Conflict Resolution Laboratory (CRL). Members of the CLR focus their research atten-
tion on the causes and consequences of harmdoing at both the interpersonal as well as the intergroup level. This
research examines, among other things, the emotional reaction that stems from harming or being harmed (e.g.,
angst, guilt) and their effects on conflict resolution. Ultimately, Wohl's work is oriented toward the facilitation of
forgiveness and the advancement of reconciliation.
17519004, 0, Downloaded from https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/spc3.12804 by Cochrane Canada Provision, Wiley Online Library on [13/06/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License