Human Behaviour in Pandemics: Social and Psychological Determinants in a Global Health Crisis

231 Pages·2022·5.456 MB·English

by  Malgorzata Kossowska, Natalia Letki, Tomasz Zaleskiewicz, Szymon Wichary

‘This book is an excellent collection of psychological insights into people’s
perception, understanding and reactions to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
The scholarly analysis of individual, group and societal dynamics deals with
emotions, risk perception and decision making, trust in experts and insti-
tutions, adaptation processes and the fight against restrictions to regain the
lost freedom…a must-read for everybody trying to understand the crisis and
a valuable source for students and researchers in the field of psychology and
behavioral sciences.’
Prof. Erich Kirchler, University of Vienna, Austria
‘In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, an extraordinary number of
people turned overnight into specialists in individual psychology, social psy-
chology, and sociology. Peremptory statements about how people feel, in-
dividually and collectively, circulated widely and irresponsibly. This book
represents a timely and successful effort to counter such epistemic trespassing,
by laying out what is known in the relevant fields. Warmly recommended.’
Prof. David Leiser, Ben Gurion University
of the Negev, Israel
‘How Social Psychology contributes to facing the crisis related to the pan-
demic is the topic of this book. It covers individual and group perspectives,
as well as society’s, with a focus on the role of institutions’ trust, and the
influence of social capital in terms of compliance. The importance of cul-
tural differences, with the examples of Islam and Hinduism, is well shown.
The last chapter is particularly interesting as it describes how little scientific
evidence is taken into account in public policy responses to the pandemic,
and how psychology can contribute to facilitating adaptation to a prolonged
pandemic. It is a must!’
Prof. Christine Roland-Lévy, President –
International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP),
University of Reims Champagne Ardenne, France
‘The COVID-19 pandemic has taken lives of millions worldwide and put
our world into chaos. As the pandemic unfolded, it became clear that under-
standing and mitigating the process requires the collective work of various
specialists, including virologists, medical doctors, mathematicians, but also
representatives of the social sciences. The pandemic changed our behaviour
and daily routines; it affected our mental health and increased the preva-
lence of psychiatric disorders. Interestingly, our behaviour also affects the
pandemic, as the occurrence of “waves” largely reflect our habits, and to a
lesser extent, the seasonality of the virus. Strikingly, social sciences, in some
cases, appear to be more relevant in controlling the pandemic than medicine
and biology. However, the importance of these studies is not reflected by
the funding and attention they deserve. The book Human Behaviour in Pan-
demics addresses a lot of these issues, critically discussing the problem of the
pandemic on the level of a single person, a group, and a society. It discusses
communication and miscommunication and confronts us with many unob-
vious aspects of the pandemic. I highly recommend the book. It is one of the
first positions that comprehensively address the topic. While it refers to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the messages are universal. Important to read now,
but also worth considering before the next crisis.’
Krzysztof Pyrc´, Ph.D., D.Sc. Full professor in virology,
Jagiellonian University, member of the European Group of
Experts on SARS-CoV-2 Variants
Human Behaviour in Pandemics
This timely interdisciplinary book brings together a wide spectrum of theo-
retical concepts and their empirical applications in relation to the COVID-19
pandemic, informing our understanding of the social and psychological bases
of a global crisis.
Written by an author team of psychologists and sociologists, the volume
provides comprehensive coverage of phenomena such as fear, risk, judgement
and decision making, threat and uncertainty, group identity and cohesion,
social and institutional trust, and communication in the context of an in-
ternational health emergency. The topics have been grouped into four main
chapters, focusing on the individual, group, social, and communication per-
spectives of the issues affecting or being affected by the pandemic, based on
over 740 classic and current references of peer-reviewed research and contex-
tualized with an epidemiological perspective discussed in the introduction.
The volume finishes with two special sections, with a chapter on cultural
specificity of the social impact of pandemics, focusing specifically on both
Islam and Hinduism, and a chapter on the cross-national differences in policy
responses to the current health crisis.
Providing not just a reference for academic research, but also short-term
and long-term policy solutions based on successful strategies to combat ad-
verse social, cognitive, and emotional consequences, this is the ideal resource
for academics and policymakers interested in social and psychological de-
terminants of individual reactions to pandemics, as well as in fields such as
economics, management, politics, and medical care.
Małgorzata Kossowska, full professor in psychology, head of the Social
Psychology Unit and Center for Social Cognitive Studies in the Institute of
Psychology at Jagiellonian University.
Natalia Letki, associate professor at the Faculty of Political Science and In-
ternational Studies and Centre for Excellence in Social Sciences, University
of Warsaw.
Tomasz Zaleskiewicz, full professor in psychology, head of the Center for
Research in Economic Behavior at SWPS University of Social Sciences and
Humanities, Wroclaw, Poland.
Szymon Wichary, associate professor at the Institute of Psychology, Jagiel-
lonian University, Krakow.
Human Behaviour in
Pandemics
Social and Psychological Determinants in a
Global Health Crisis
Małgorzata Kossowska,
Natalia Letki,
Tomasz Zaleskiewicz,
and Szymon Wichary
Cover image: Getty Images
First published in English 2022 by Routledge
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Małgorzata Kossowska, Natalia Letki, Tomasz Zaleskiewicz
and Szymon Wichary
The right of Małgorzata Kossowska, Natalia Letki, Tomasz
Zaleskiewicz and Szymon Wichary to be identified as authors of this
work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Published in Polish by Smak Słowa 2021
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 9781032183534 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781032183527 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003254133 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003254133
Typeset in Bembo
by codeMantra
Contents
List of figures ix
List of tables xi
List of contributors xiii
PART 1
Individuals, groups, and society in times of pandemics 1
Małgorzata Kossowska, Natalia Letki, Tomasz Zaleskiewicz, and
Szymon Wichary
Introduction 3
Małgorzata Kossowska, Natalia Letki, Tomasz Zaleskiewicz,
and Szymon Wichary
1 Individual perspective 7
Małgorzata Kossowska, Natalia Letki, Tomasz Zaleskiewicz,
and Szymon Wichary
2 Group perspective 49
Małgorzata Kossowska, Natalia Letki, Tomasz Zaleskiewicz,
and Szymon Wichary
3 Societal level 65
Małgorzata Kossowska, Natalia Letki, Tomasz Zaleskiewicz,
and Szymon Wichary
4 Communication in times of pandemic 85
Małgorzata Kossowska, Natalia Letki, Tomasz Zaleskiewicz,
and Szymon Wichary
viii Contents
5 Summary 97
Małgorzata Kossowska, Natalia Letki, Tomasz Zaleskiewicz,
and Szymon Wichary
References 109
PART 2
Culture and policy in times of pandemics: case studies 151
Edited by: Małgorzata Kossowska, Natalia Letki, Tomasz
Zaleskiewicz, and Szymon Wichary
6 The COVID-19 epidemic in Poland, as of summer 2021 153
Jerzy Duszyn´ski
7 Pandemic and cultural differences: examples from Islam
and Hinduism 161
Piotr Kłodkowski and Anna Siewierska-Chmaj
8 Public policy responses to the pandemic: a comparative
perspective 177
Jarosław Górniak, Seweryn Krupnik, and Maciej Koniewski
References 197
Index 201
Figures
6.1 Comparison of Poland’s and Germany’s daily confirmed
cases per 1 million habitants, 7-day moving average 157
6.2 Comparison of Poland’s and Germany’s daily deaths per
1 million habitants, 7-day moving average 157
8.1 Country clusters and intervention categories 194
8.2 The numbers of interventions within ten categories (Airport
restrictions, Border restrictions, Closure of educational
institutions, Mass gathering cancellation, National
lockdown, Small gathering cancellation, Public transport
restrictions, Quarantine, Individual movement restrictions,
Mandatory use of masks) introduced by the OECD
countries in the following weeks of 2020 195