Introduction: According to the motivated helplessness hypothesis, thinking that there is nothing to do to avoid the coronavirus may make people less afraid of being infected (Lifshin et al., 2020). Previous correlational evidence indicated that high levels of helplessness were associated with diminished fear of COVID-19 (Lifshin et al., 2020; Lifshin & Mikulincer, 2021). Method: We tested if manipulated perceived helplessness to avoid the virus using bogus messages (high, low or moderate helplessness) would reduce fear of COVID-19, state anxiety, and motivation for protective actions. Results: Supporting the hypothesis, in the high helplessness condition, higher perceived helplessness related to less fear of COVID-19, but this did not occur in the low and moderate helplessness control conditions. Perceived helplessness in the helplessness condition also indirectly reduced state anxiety and motivation for protective actions. Discussion: This research may advance the psychological study of helplessness and our understanding of human behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic.

中文翻译：

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冠状病毒大流行中的动机性无助：实验证据表明避免病毒的无助减少了对 Covid-19 的恐惧

引言：根据动机性无助假说，认为没有办法避免冠状病毒可能会减少人们对被感染的恐惧（Lifshin et al., 2020）。先前的相关证据表明，高度无助与减少对 COVID-19 的恐惧有关（Lifshin 等人，2020 年；Lifshin 和 Mikulincer，2021 年）。方法：我们测试了使用虚假信息（高、低或中度无助）操纵感知无助以避免病毒是否会减少对 COVID-19 的恐惧、状态焦虑和采取保护行动的动机。结果：支持该假设，在高度无助条件下，感知到的无助感与对 COVID-19 的恐惧较少相关，但在低度和中度无助控制条件下并未发生这种情况。在无助状态下感知到的无助也间接减少了状态焦虑和保护行动的动机。讨论：这项研究可能会推进对无助的心理学研究以及我们对 COVID-19 大流行期间人类行为的理解。