A secondary bond: Why economic threats boost compensatory preference for government control in China

Compensatory control theory suggests that threats to personal control increase the desire for external control. Yet, despite the growing salience of global economic instability—amplified by trade conflicts, protectionist policies, and heightened geopolitical tensions—empirical research has rarely examined this dynamic in the context of economic threats. Moreover, the direct psychological consequences of endorsing external control—whether it ultimately enhances or diminishes personal control—remain largely unexplored. Addressing both gaps, the present research focuses on the socio‐political context of China to investigate whether individuals facing economic threats and diminished personal control show increased preference for government control, a particularly powerful and salient external source of control in Chinese society. Across studies, the results showed a positive relationship between perceived economic threats and preference for government control, mediated by a reduction in personal control (Studies 1–3). Furthermore, we found that endorsement of government control helped enhance, rather than undermine, personal control (Studies 4 and 5). These findings suggest that government control serves as a compensatory source of control in response to economic threats.