Operationalizing social group identification as political partisanship, we examine followers’ (i.e., US residents’) affective experiences and behavioral responses during the initial COVID-19 outbreak in the United States (March to May 2020). In Study 1, we conducted content analyses on major news outlets’ coverage of COVID-19 (N = 4319) to examine media polarization and how it plays a role in shaping followers’ perceptions of the pandemic and leadership. News outlets trusted by Republicans portrayed US President Donald Trump as more effective, conveyed a stronger sense of certainty with less negative affective tone, and had a lower emphasis on COVID-19 prevention compared to outlets trusted by Democrats. We then conducted a field survey study (Study 2; N = 214) and found that Republicans perceived Trump as more effective, experienced higher positive affect, and engaged in less COVID-19 preventive behavior compared to Democrats. Using a longitudinal survey design in Study 3 (N = 251), we examined how emotional responses evolved in parallel with the pandemic and found further support for Study 2 findings. Collectively, our findings provide insight into the process of leadership from a social identity perspective during times of crisis, illustrating how social identity can inhibit mobilization of united efforts. The findings have implications for leadership of subgroup divides in different organizational and crisis contexts.

中文翻译：

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不是“我的”危机：社会认同和追随者对 COVID-19 的危机反应

将社会群体识别作为政治党派进行操作，我们检查了追随者（即美国居民）在美国最初的 COVID-19 爆发期间（2020 年 3 月至 2020 年 5 月）的情感体验和行为反应。在研究 1 中，我们对主要新闻媒体对 COVID-19 ( N = 4319) 的报道进行了内容分析，以检查媒体两极分化以及它如何在塑造追随者对大流行和领导力的看法方面发挥作用。与民主党信任的媒体相比，共和党信任的新闻媒体将美国总统唐纳德·特朗普描述为更有效，传达了更强的确定性和更少的负面情绪，并且对 COVID-19 预防的重视程度较低。然后我们进行了实地调查研究（研究 2；N =214）并发现与民主党人相比，共和党人认为特朗普更有效，经历了更高的积极影响，并且参与的 COVID-19 预防行为更少。在研究 3 ( N = 251)中使用纵向调查设计，我们检查了情绪反应如何与大流行并行发展，并为研究 2 的结果找到了进一步的支持。总的来说，我们的研究结果从社会认同的角度深入了解了危机时期的领导过程，说明了社会认同如何抑制联合努力的动员。研究结果对不同组织和危机背景下亚组分歧的领导力有影响。