Research recently showed that boredom proneness was associated with increased social distancing rule-breaking in a sample collected early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we explore data collected early in the pandemic to examine what factors might drive this relation. We focus on political affiliation. Given the functional account of boredom as a call to action, we hypothesized that this urge to act may drive individuals towards outlets replete with symbolic value (e.g., ideology, identity). In addition, given the politicization of some social distancing rules (e.g., mask wearing), we explored whether those who adhere to strong political ideologies—particularly conservative ideologies—would be more likely to rule-break. Moderation analyses indicated that boredom proneness and social (but not fiscal) conservatism were indeed predictive of rule-breaking. These results highlight the need for both clear messaging emphasizing the strength of communal identity and action (i.e., that “We are all in this together”) and for interventions that emphasize shared collective values in contexts that appeal directly to social conservatives.

最近的研究表明，在 COVID-19 大流行早期收集的样本中，无聊倾向与违反社交距离规则的行为增加有关。在这里，我们探讨了大流行早期收集的数据，以研究哪些因素可能推动这种关系。我们关注政治立场。鉴于无聊作为一种行动号召的功​​能解释，我们假设这种行动的冲动可能会驱使个体走向充满象征价值（例如意识形态、身份）的出路。此外，考虑到一些社交距离规则（例如戴口罩）的政治化，我们探讨了那些坚持强烈政治意识形态（尤其是保守意识形态）的人是否更有可能违反规则。适度分析表明，无聊倾向和社会（而非财政）保守主义确实预示着违反规则。这些结果凸显了既需要明确的信息传递，强调公共身份和行动的力量（即“我们都在一起”），也需要采取干预措施，在直接吸引社会保守派的背景下强调共同的集体价值观。