Identity Nonverification, Emotions, and Cognitive and Behavioral Responses

We examine how 10 emotions that emerge from the identity nonverification process are associated with specific coping strategies that share meanings with these emotions. We study a nonrandom, national quota sample of adults who had problems verifying their identities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings support our hypotheses that identity nonverification is associated with an increase in negative emotions, such as anger and fear, and a reduction in positive emotions, such as happiness and hope, and that people engage in coping strategies in response to nonverification. Negative emotions tend to prompt the more negative coping strategies of disengagement, and positive emotions, when they occur, tend to animate positive coping tactics. Beyond the valence of the emotion, the meanings of the emotions appear to be related to the meanings of the coping strategies. The results support recent theorizing that people’s emotions help them select the cognitive and behavioral responses to identity nonverification.