Pandemic Playbook Posts

As many parts of the world are in stages of reopening, there are varying attitudes concerning individual and societal risk. The issue of communicating risk to the population is difficult on several levels: many are growing accustomed to the new state of being, are doubtful of the risk to themselves or simply do not have the means to take the precautions. There are several psychological phenomena that are at the heart of many of the decisions being made concerning personal ris

As much relating to the coronavirus is still unknown, there has been changing information as related to safety guidelines, modes of transmission and vaccination timelines (amongst other issues). The realities of dealing with the novel coronavirus and emerging information has caused confusion and in some cases distrust in leaders. In this section we will explore the behavioral mechanisms used when navigating ambiguity and methods for effective communication in uncertain times.

Following the growth of the pandemic is absolutely essential for those charged with the task of planning for the future of their communities. This role can include but is not exclusive to government officials, hospital administrative workers, health care providers, school administrators and individuals who want to track the daily growth of the pandemic. Difficulties in understanding timing particularly arise due to the logarithmic models behind epidemiology, especially expone

How do households in a crisis, marked with price volatility, employment uncertainty, and complex information alter their savings, borrowing, and payment behavior? Image via Forbes Shocks with prolonged effects on the economy and social life of people seep into a household's daily routine. One major domain that gets severely impacted is the household's finance. Negative effects of these shocks, which may take forms of economic crisis, natural disaster, or pandemics, can alter

Lockdown and Distancing Importance of physical distancing in a pandemic cannot be stressed enough, yet the act itself is very much against the basic nature of humans, resulting in a complex set of problems. For starters, it is relatively more difficult to obey rules imposed by others versus our own. This gets more challenging when new rules interfere with our personal space - likes of physical distancing and economic goals given we are social creatures engaged in continuous e

Risk Compensation Once the challenge of adherence to mask wearing is addressed, the next challenge is its implications on other behaviours. Like how having ABS in cars can make certain drivers more confident in driving at higher speeds, wearing masks can give a false sense of security that one is much safer now, given you are doing something that you usually would not do (especially having overcome substantial inertia). Therefore, this false sense of security can lead to comp

We are in need of a new set of norms around wearing masks in public. Mask wearing has already been established as a norm in many East Asian countries for a variety of purposes - epidemics, air pollution, flu season as well as coping with allergies. Masks have come to symbolize solidarity and are perceived as a collective responsibility, especially with the saliency of epidemics such as SARS. There are several beliefs that have delayed the adoption and adherence of mask wearin

The majority of us are facing long periods of lockdowns and shelter in place orders. This abrupt shift to a new normal takes a toll on all of us with its initial challenges, yet it continues to shift and evolve as we begin to experience coping fatigue with no clear end in sight. Astronauts and scientists in isolated research stations, alone or with their small teams, provided examples of what worked for them during their extended period of time away from their routines, famil

When given the action to remain six feet apart from others in order to limit transmission of COVID-19, we are left with a new normal and a reminder that we are not good at judging distances. Visual cues for this six-foot distancing have appeared all over the world in stores, markets, polling places and community social media posts, making actionable this somewhat abstract directive. The effectiveness of these visual cues comes from the community level implementation as they h