Open AccessSocial value orientations and public confidence in institutions: A young democracy under the imprint of COVID-19
Author(s) -
Sheena Moosa,
Aminath Riyaz,
Raheema Abdul Raheem,
Hawwa Shiuna Musthafa,
Aishath Zeen Naeem
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
cosmopolitan civil societies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.31
H-Index - 5
ISSN - 1837-5391
DOI - 10.5130/ccs.v13.i2.7548
Subject(s) - openness to experience , prosocial behavior , democracy , social value orientations , value (mathematics) , public institution , pandemic , political science , psychology , confidence interval , social psychology , economic growth , sociology , demographic economics , covid-19 , economics , medicine , disease , pathology , machine learning , politics , computer science , infectious disease (medical specialty) , law , microeconomics
Social value orientations (SVOs) of a society determine peoples' behaviour and are critical for young democracies in crises. This paper draws on the Maldives Values in Crisis survey, conducted during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. SVOs assessed using the Schwartz Personal Values Questionnaire shows that Maldivian society weigh slightly towards prosocial. Urban-rural, age, and gender determine the SVOs on the dimension of Openness to change versus Conservation while age and gender determine the SVOs on Self-enhancement versus Self-transcendence dimension. Confidence in the public institutions were moderate and not associated with the SVOs. The moderate level of SVOs and confidence in institutions reflects the democratic landscape of the country. Although prosocial SVOs are favourable for implementing containment measures of the pandemic, without a strong value orientation towards conservation and self-transcendence, and confidence in the institutions, the country faces the risk of non-compliance to measures and escalation of the crisis.