How the Psychology of Pandemic Behavior Can Help Guide Containment Strategies

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Michael Krasny

Jun 29, 2020 at

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People wearing facemasks at Santa Monica Pier, which re-opened on June 25 after closure for over three months due to the coronavirus pandemic, on June 26, 2020 in Santa Monica, California. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

Why do some people embrace masks and practice meticulous social distancing while others rebel against public health mandates? Psychologists are studying what drives behavior in the pandemic, and they’re also looking at how information overload can influence how people react to the crisis. In this hour, psychologists Ellen Peters and Jay Van Bavel join us to lay out how social and behavioral science can help explain how people respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and how that information can help guide public policy messaging around containment.

Guests:

Ellen Peters, psychologist, director, Center for Science Communication Research, University of Oregon; author, "Innumeracy in the Wild: Misunderstanding and Misusing Numbers"

Jay Van Bavel, associate professor of psychology, New York University

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