Zero empathy. Psychologists linked the refusal to wear a mask with an antisocial disorder

Irina Ziganshina

The journal Personality and Individual Differences published the results of a study by Brazilian scientists who studied the relationship between unwillingness to wear a face shield and personality traits. The study covered 1,578 people between the ages of 18 and 73, the Independent reports.

Using a questionnaire, the scientists measured the emotional resonance of the participants, that is, how much their actions were determined by the feelings caused by other people. In addition, participants were asked questions about how they observe antiquated measures such as wearing a mask.

When analyzing, psychologists identified two models of behavior: antisocial, the carriers of which denied security measures, and empathic, the carriers of which obeyed it.

Participants with an antisocial personality profile had higher scores in character traits such as callousness, deceit, hostility, impulsivity, irresponsibility, manipulativeness, and willingness to take risks. All of these features are typical of a person with antisocial personality disorder. Also, these people had lower scores for the ability to emotional resonance.

Those with an empathic personality profile had higher emotional resonance scores and lower scores for traits associated with sociopathy.

As the authors summarize, “Our results showed that antisocial personality traits, especially low empathy and higher levels of heartlessness, deceit and risk taking, are directly related to lower compliance with pandemic containment measures. These characteristics explain, at least in part, the reason why people continue to persist in their unwillingness to comply with containment measures, even as the number of cases and deaths increases.