Fearing the Trojan horse: Motives attributed to the outgroup and rejection of outgroup help

Abstract

Decisions to give and receive help are often influenced by group memberships, social identities, and intergroup relations. Two studies were conducted to test how perceived political relations between countries are related to willingness to accept offers of intergroup help. Respondents in two low-income countries, the Philippines (N = 289) and Pakistan (N = 275), indicated their willingness to accept (or not) Covid-19 vaccine donations from two higher-status countries (China and the United States) during the Covid pandemic. Results showed that the perceived motivation of the outgroup nation for providing help was associated with rejection or acceptance of help, mediated by emotional reactions to the help. A perception that outgroup nations donate vaccines to demonstrate and assert their superiority and power, that they donate vaccines to keep the outgroup dependent on the ingroup, and a perception that they donate vaccines out of self-interest, were all associated with rejection of vaccine donations. A perception that donations by the outgroup are motivated by genuine concern for the ingroup was associated with acceptance of help. Findings confirm that political intergroup relations are related to attitudes about whether the ingroup nation should accept intergroup help or not. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed. | INTRODUCTIONTo overcome global health challenges, a global approach is needed (Gavi, 2021). International sharing of health resources between rich and poorer countries is imperative on ethical, humanitarian, and medical grounds (see, e.g., the Guardian, 2021). Sharing can happen through international collaborations such as the COVAX initiative supported by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2021), or it can happen through individual donations from certain resource-rich countries to poorer countries, for example, by China to the Philippines (Reuters, 2021) and by the United States to Pakistan (VoaNews, 2021). But, a successful sharing of health resources does not only require resource sharing, it also requires a willingness among the population of low-income countries to accept and use resources such as vaccines donated by more resource-rich countries. The literature on the psychology of intergroup helping suggests that offers of help, such as donations of Covid-19 vaccines, are not always gratefully accepted. Under certain circumstances, offers of assistance can be met with suspicion and resistance (Nadler & Halabi, 2006). This present research will test the potential downstream consequences of motives attributed to resource-rich countries for offering Covid-19 vaccines to residents of two low-income countries: the