It is puzzling why countries do not all implement stringent behavioral control measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 even though preventive behaviors have been proven to be the only effective means to stop the pandemic. We provide a novel evolutionary life history explanation whereby pathogenic and parasitic prevalence represents intrinsic rather than extrinsic mortality risk that drives slower life history strategies and the related disease control motivation in all animals but especially humans. Our theory was tested and supported based on publicly available data involving over 150 countries. Countries having a higher historical prevalence of infectious diseases are found to adopt slower life history strategies that are related to prompter COVID-19 containment actions by the government and greater compliance by the population. Findings could afford governments novel insight into the design of more effective COVID-19 strategies that are based on enhancing a sense of control, vigilance, and compliance in the general population.

令人费解的是，尽管预防行为已被证明是阻止大流行的唯一有效手段，但为什么各国并未全部实施严格的行为控制措施来防止 COVID-19 的传播。我们提供了一种新颖的进化生活史解释，其中致病性和寄生虫的流行代表了内在而非外在的死亡风险，推动了所有动物（尤其是人类）较慢的生活史策略和相关的疾病控制动机。我们的理论基于涉及 150 多个国家的公开数据进行了测试和支持。研究发现，传染病历史流行率较高的国家会采取较慢的生活史策略，这与政府采取更迅速的 COVID-19 遏制行动以及民众更大程度的遵守有关。研究结果可以为政府提供新的见解，设计更有效的 COVID-19 策略，这些策略的基础是增强普通民众的控制感、警惕性和依从性。