Trust and Media: Reflection of the Big Five Factor Personality Traits on COVID-19 Pandemic Communication

Abstract

The pandemic process, in general, is a process that creates anxiety due to reasons such as confusion, instability, misinformation and inadequate planning. Within the scope of this study, the assumption that the personality traits of individuals are effective in getting information and taking the required measures while carrying out the health communication during COVID-19 pandemic, and from the question of whether the individual differences can be associated with the inclination for information receipt or not. This scope of this study aims to measure how the communication of the COVID-19 epidemic towards the Turkish people affects the individuals' preferences for information, the relationships between the sources they trust, and their individual differences based on the Big-5 factors, within the framework of the five major personality traits. This quantitative study, firstly aims to investigate the information-seeking behavior of the Turkish public in relation to their perceptions of COVID-19 and the impact of messages received from the media. Secondly, it is aimed to measure how the COVID-19 pandemic communication affects the relationships among the media sources they trust in their choices of information. While the trust in *This study was supported by Yaşar University Project Evaluation Commission (PDK) within the project numbered BAP 096 "Covid-19 communication management in Turkey: Exploring the effect of information-seeking behaviour and message reception in public's evaluation.

Personality Classification Model of Social Network Profiles based on their Activities and Contents

“…People with a high level of this characteristic are more likely to be daring and creative. People with low levels of this component are more traditional and may have difficulty thinking abstractly [6].…”

“…People that are very conscientious have a propensity to be structured and detail oriented. They consider the consequences of their activities and are mindful of deadlines [6].…”

“…Being in the company of others helps them to feel empowered and happy. People with a low level of extraversion are more likely to be timid and have less ability to consume in social contexts [6].…”

“… Agreeableness: Characteristics like confidence, altruism, humanism, love, and other prosocial behaviours are included in this personality component [5]. People who score high in agreeableness are more helpful, whereas those who score low are more competitive and, at times, cunning [6].…”

“…People with high levels of this component are more likely to experience mood swings, concern, irritability, and disappointment. People who score low on this characteristic are more emotionally balanced [6].…”