Study title

Full edition for scientific use. The COVID-19 pandemic offers unique opportunity - a natural experiment indeed - to study how people’s moral values change during times of crises. In the face of lacking evidence, we cannot take it for granted that the stability of values observed in normal times continues throughout the Corona crisis. This dataset represents the Austrian data of the first wave of a longitudinal study which is conducted in several countries all over the world. A second wave is planned in 2021, a third wave about one year after the crisis. Under the current contact restrictions, using an online panel is the only option to achieve potentially representative data of the Austrian population. The study investigates basic values (measured with classical value concepts such as the Inglehart Index and the short Portraits Values Questionnaire (by Shalom Schwartz) which is also implemented in the European Social Survey). Additional item batteries refer to concepts which are grounded in personality research (e.g. Big Five and Empathy), exposure to the crisis and perceptions of economic consequences. In the Austrian dataset several items of the Social Survey Austria about social, political and environmental attitudes are repeated as well and new concepts about visions of the future after COVID-19 are included as well. The main aim of the study is to figure out how respondents’ perception of the crisis transforms and how these value changes are linked to moral values and social and political attitudes.