Did the outbreak of COVID‐19 and individual exposure to it increase ingroup bias in the USA? An experimental investigation of interethnic trust

Abstract

Pathogen‐stress and terror‐management theories predict that lethal epidemics heighten parochial cooperation. We test this prediction experimentally in two nationally representative US samples surveyed before and at the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic. We compare trust and expected trustworthiness across the two waves in monetarily incentivized trust games involving non‐Hispanic Whites, African Americans and Hispanics. We find significant ingroup favouritism in both waves. However, the aggregate ingroup premium fell by about one‐half between waves. This decline was concentrated among left‐leaning and moderate respondents. While non‐Hispanic Whites tended to reduce their ingroup bias in expected trustworthiness, the opposite was found for African Americans. Respondents more exposed to COVID‐19 displayed higher intergroup trust, altruism and expected trustworthiness than others. These results contradict the hypothesis that lethal epidemics intensify parochialism, also suggesting that the response may be diversified across groups.