⁍ Researchers surveyed 850 U.S. residents between March 13 and March 25, 2020 — the first two weeks following the U.S. presidential declaration of a national emergency about the COVID-19 pandemic.
⁍ Those with better working memory capacity were more likely to indicate that they had followed social distancing guidelines.
⁍ Higher levels of fluid intelligence and agreeableness were associated with greater social distancing compliance.

– People with better working memory may be more likely to follow safety guidelines like shaking hands and avoiding social gatherings during an outbreak of a deadly virus, according to a new study. Researchers at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke say their findings “reveal a novel cognitive root of social distancing compliance during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic,” referring to the SARS-CoV ⁇ 2 virus. They surveyed 850 US residents between March 13 and March 25, 2020—the first two weeks after the US presidential declaration of a national emergency about the virus—and found that those with better working memory were more likely to say they had followed safety guidelines like not shaking hands and avoiding social gatherings, reports PsyPost. “The decision of whether or not to follow social distancing guidelines is a difficult one, especially when there is a conflict between the societal benefits (e.g., prevent staining public health resources) and personal costs (e.g., lost in social connection and financial challenges),” study author Weiwei Zhang says. “This decision critically relies on our mental capacity in retaining multiple pieces of potentially conflicting information in our head, which is referred to as working memory capacity.” The researchers say their findings should be used to help policy makers make “debrief, concise, and brief”