Why have most Poles recently rushed to shops, buying groceries, medicines and toilet paper? The behavior of Poles in the face of the epidemic is explained by Dr. Konrad Maj, a social psychologist from the SWPS University.

In mid-March, most Poles - following the example of other nations - stormed pharmacies, grocery stores and drugstores, buying their basic necessities. What drove them? We asked the social psychologist from SWPS University, Dr. Konrad Maj.

Why do we succumb to collective hysteria

There came a moment in our history that no one expected. Until now, our life has been stable and predictable. Diseases that have plagued us as a society, or accidents have already been tamed by us, which is why we are not so afraid of them, we also know how to counteract them. And suddenly, in the face of an unknown disease, we feel powerless, defenseless, we can only slow down the progressing epidemic - this is something unimaginable and shocking for us.

In such a situation, we are triggered by our natural instincts, such as concern for our own and our relatives' lives, we suffer from a lack of a sense of security. Man at all costs triesto regain control over this difficult situation , and the only thing he can do is copy the behavior of others. He thinks to himself, "Since they are buying food from stores and toilet paper from stores, then I should too, I cannot be worse, because maybe they are right to buy these products en masse."

Besides our behavior, there is also a second factor -distrust of official messages . This behavior is especially characteristic of Polish society due to its difficult history (distrust of former governments). In addition, there is alsoinformation chaos in the media- people do not know who to listen to and whom to trust, so they want to be a source of information for their friends. Hence all the fake news or conspiracy theories that spread like wildfire on the web. For people, it is also a way to build a solid position in their environment.

Collective hysteria and what next?

After the first shock passed, people began to approach everything with greater calmness. Suddenly, it turned out that the stores were not closed, and you can buy the most necessary goods all the time. Butthe coronavirus has challenged the whole world. In the face of the national quarantine, we must completely remodel our lives for many months, organize work differently, and distance ourselves more from other people. Otherwise, the scenario from Italy would repeat itself, where social contacts were more important than common sense.

How to survive the quarantine?

The most important thing is our attitude at this difficult time - we should be optimistic about the future. Now we are sitting at home for the benefit of ourselves and our loved ones, but someday it will end. Let's treat it as convalescence after an illness. Let us take care of something constructive - help others, things that have been neglected so far, let us nurture family life, and intensify contacts via the Internet. Analyzing the current situation, constantly checking the news do not make sense - they will not do us any good.

Category:

Psychology