%0 Journal Article
%T The Effects of Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Aggression on Individuals¡¯ Intention to Harm Asian Americans during the COVID-19 Pandemic
%A Niwako Yamawaki
%A Jane Green
%A Alice Nuo-Yi Wang
%A Yuki Nohagi
%A Zoe Macias
%A Jae Martinez
%A Rachel Umphress
%J Psychology
%P 1425-1442
%@ 2152-7199
%D 2022
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/psych.2022.139091
%X Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. has experienced a large increase in anti-Asian hate crimes due to the mistaken and pervasive belief that COVID-19 was a <em>Chinese virus</em>. While the rise in hate crimes is well-documented, not much research has been conducted into the characteristics that predict an individual¡¯s intention to harm Asian Americans. Therefore, we examined individuals¡¯ intention to harm Asian Americans related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (<em>N</em> = 94) were recruited from Amazon¡¯s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and were given 10 real-world scenarios of acts of aggression toward Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants responded to three questions for each real-world scenario, and right-wing authoritarianism and four types of aggression (i.e., physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, hostility) were examined as predictors of individuals¡¯ intention to harm Asian Americans. We found that right-wing authoritarianism, physical aggression, and anger were significant predictors of one¡¯s intention to harm Asian Americans. However, verbal aggression and hostility were not significant predictors of one¡¯s intention to harm Asian Americans. Implications of these findings are discussed since these findings can assist researchers¡¯ understanding of issues pertaining to prejudice and racism related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
%K COVID-19
%K Right-Wing Authoritarianism
%K Aggression
%K Intention to Harm
%K Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=120173