Under pressure: Locomotion and assessment in the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic poses unique opportunities to explore how fundamental self-regulatory variables affect responses to the pandemic. We examine how two critical self-regulatory orientations, locomotion and assessment, relate to psychological distress and obeying public health guidelines using secondary data analysis. In the initial pandemic stages (April and May, 2020), North American participants (N = 924) completed measures of chronic locomotion and assessment, pandemic behaviors and feelings, and various individual-differences. Analyses revealed that assessment, but not locomotion, was indirectly associated with greater pandemic rule-breaking and psychological distress through the fear of missing out, difficulty engaging in activities, and engagement in negative activities. We discuss why the vulnerabilities of assessment, and not locomotion, may be particularly sensitive to pandemic-related constraints.