It’s Alive! Increasing Protective Action against the Coronavirus through Anthropomorphism and Construal

News outlets often depict the coronavirus as a “burglar” or “killer”—even though viruses are not technically alive. While imbuing this virus with human-like qualities may enable public to feel if they better able understand it, does anthropomorphizing lead people adopt protective behaviors against spread of disease? Integrating construal level theory, we argue that an agent makes it seem more understandable, which decreases its psychological distance. And through matching between message and consumers’ temporal focus, demonstrate when is anthropomorphized, likely measures focused on present versus future because consumers believe anthropomorphized be powerful. Our findings contribute both anthropomorphism theory research. Additionally, our offer implications for health communication strategies policy.