Saturday, October 02, 2021

Study provides more evidence of how COVID-19 changed Americans’ values, activities

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/929978

 

 News Release 29-Sep-2021
University of California - Los Angeles

 

A new UCLA-led study decisively confirms findings of research published earlier this year, which found that American values, attitudes and activities had changed dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The earlier study, published in February, was based on an analysis of online behavior — Google searches and phrases posted on Twitter, blogs and internet forums. The latest research, published in the open-access journal Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, is based on a survey of 2,092 Americans — about half in California and half in Rhode Island.

Patricia Greenfield, a UCLA distinguished professor of psychology and senior author of both studies, said the results indicate that Americans’ activities, values and relationships have begun to resemble those found in small, isolated villages with low life expectancy — such as an isolated Mayan village in Chiapas, Mexico, that she has studied since 1969.

For example, according to the survey, people said that compared with pre-pandemic times, they are now more likely to be growing and preparing their own food, conserving resources, demonstrating less interest in financial wealth and showing greater appreciation for their elders. The researchers found all of those shifts are a function of Americans’ increased focus on survival and their isolation during the pandemic.

The study also found that during the pandemic parents expected their children to help out around the home — for example, by cooking for the family — more than they did before the pandemic.

The fact that the latest findings aligned with those of the earlier research on online trends provides additional support for both studies.

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