Dark Triad Properties of Psychopathology and Message Framing Predict Risky Decision Making During the COVID-19 Pandemic

First published: April 13, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12766

Commentary

The influence of framing on risky decision making has been extensively studied in a study using Kahneman and Tobelsky's (1981) hypothetical scenario for a contagious Asian disease.

The COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to test how message framing affects risky decision making at a time when millions of real lives are at stake around the world. In a sample of U.S. adults (N = 294), we examined the effects of message framing and Dark Triad characteristics in relation to risky decision making during a COVID-19 crisis.

We found that both gain framing and loss framing influence risk selection in response to COVID-19. Compared to the benchmark established by Tversky and Kahneman (1981), people are more risk-averse in this loss condition.

Among the characteristics of the Dark Triad, psychopathy emerges as an important predictor of risk-taking, suggesting that people with higher psychopathy scores are more likely to gamble with the lives of others during a COVID-19 crisis.

The implication is that both voters and pandemic-related awareness campaigns need to consider the possibility that decision-makers with psychopathic tendencies may take greater risks with other people's lives during a pandemic.