Epidemic Psychology Deciphered

Unlike other pandemics in history, COVID-19 has come at a very sophisticated technological age. This should mean that we’re smarter and better equipped for it. However, human nature still sets in....

- Evigan Xiao

The human race has suffered and survived many plagues. While there have been acts of heroism in dire times, it is still common for epidemics to bring out the most unsavoury aspects of human behaviour. The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is no exception. The panic buying of hygiene products like hand sanitisers (or worse, resellers trying to hawk them online at hyper-inflated prices) is but one example. Meanwhile, America, Europe and the UK saw increased incidents of xenophobic outbursts against Asians.

Singaporeans experienced similar occurrences here at home, albeit on a smaller scale. Despite COVID-19 being a physiological affliction, it also has psychosocial effects, many of them extending beyond the infected. One example is the recent (and unnecessary) scramble for supplies and groceries that saw healthy individuals and families stocking up on every thinkable item, despite there being no evidence to suggest an impending shortage.

Sociologists like the late Philip Strong describe the phenomenon as “epidemic psychology” in action. It is characterised by “plagues of fear, panic, suspicion and stigma”, along with “mass outbreaks of moral controversy, potential solutions and personal conversion to the many different causes which spring up”. Multiple factors are at work here; Strong’s model divides epidemic psychology into three categories of fear, explanation and action.

Epidemic Of Fear