This study examines the third-person effects of COVID-19 news among Wuhan residents during the peak of the outbreaks in the city. Using data collected in a telephone survey of 1,071 Wuhan residents, results show that respondents believed others were more influenced by the COVID-19 news. However, the more the respondents systematically processed the news through elaboration and the more they were oriented toward collectivist values, the smaller the self-other perceptual gap. Finally, results suggest the moderating effect of collectivism on the relationship between perceived effects of COVID news and altruistic behavior—collectivism enhances the influence of perceived effects on others on adoption of altruistic behavior. The influence of culture in shaping risk perception and behavioral responses is discussed.

本研究调查了武汉市爆发高峰期间 COVID-19 新闻对武汉居民的第三人称影响。使用对 1,071 名武汉居民进行电话调查收集的数据，结果显示，受访者认为其他人更受 COVID-19 新闻的影响。然而，受访者通过详细阐述系统地处理新闻的次数越多，他们越倾向于集体主义价值观，自我-他者的感知差距就越小。最后，结果表明集体主义对 COVID 新闻的感知效果与利他行为之间的关系具有调节作用——集体主义增强了对他人的感知效果对采用利他行为的影响。讨论了文化在塑造风险认知和行为反应方面的影响。