Interdependency or submission to authority? The impacts of horizontal and vertical collectivist orientation on vaccine attitudes in mainland China

Abstract

Culture has a profound impact on preventive measures during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Previous research has revealed that collectivism is associated with more effective responses to COVID‐19 on the national or regional level. However, the impact of different components of collectivist orientation on vaccine attitudes remains insufficiently explored on the individual level. Two survey studies conducted in August 2021 in mainland China consistently found that individual‐level horizontal collectivist orientation, rather than vertical collectivist orientation, was linked with more favourable vaccine attitudes. Specifically, Study 1 (N = 731) indicated that horizontal collectivist orientation was positive associated with vaccination intention indirectly via risk perception, and horizontal collectivist orientation was also positively associated with vaccination persuasion both directly and indirectly via risk perception. Study 2 (N = 1481), employing multilevel modelling, demonstrated that the link between horizontal collectivist orientation and confidence in vaccines remained robust regardless of provincial‐level variations in socioeconomic development and cultural tightness. These findings convergently suggest that the positive vaccine attitudes among mainland Chinese are primarily driven by an amplified risk perception due to concern for others, rather than submission to authority.