The outbreak of a novel coronavirus causing COVID-19 disease has meant that the world has had to take precautionary public health measures to help eliminate the spread of the virus (Heymann and Shindo 2020) however this pathogen threat can also translate into willingness to distance ourselves from others on a psychological level.
Will the ongoing pandemic of Coronavirus affect attitudes toward foreign nationalities?
The COVID-19 virus outbreak has dominated the news and the constant processing of information about it can be highly arousing and eliciting anxiety (Al-Rabiaah et al. 2020), thereby influencing the level of any potential prejudice. Research by Sorokowski et al. (2020) has examined whether Polish and UK participants’ media exposure predicts their level of prejudice toward four nationalities. China and Italy were used, representing one culturally close and one culturally distant nation with a large outbreak of the virus, and Hungary and Mongolia, representing one culturally close and one culturally distant nation affected by the epidemic to a lesser extent. They found that media exposure was positively correlated with prejudice to culturally different foreigners eg: China, regardless of the size of the outbreak. In a second study, it was shown that participants who were exposed to or searched for more information about Coronavirus, were found to be more anxious and distancing themselves from Italians who had the most severe COVID-19 outbreak at the time of the study.
Clearly physical and social distancing from others is highly recommended during a pandemic and can slow down the speed of the virus expansion significantly. However the accompanying less favourable attitudes about foreign groups can be dangerous and in the long term can increase discrimination and injustice.
Will political differences differentiate health behaviours and policy preferences?
The behaviour of each and every one of us during the 2020 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has shaped the course of the virus’s spread. A YouGov survey, taken between February 28th to March 2nd 2020 in America showed that people had taken measures to avoid contracting coronavirus. These included improving personal hygiene habits such as washing their hands frequently (42%), avoiding crowded public places (27%), refraining from touching objects in public (24%), and avoiding contact with tourists (17%). When the survey was repeated 2 weeks later it was found that these measures had increased to washing their hands frequently (65%), avoiding crowded public places (67%), refraining from touching objects in public (50%), and avoiding contact with tourists (35%). Such increases reflect the seriousness with which the American public viewed coronavirus and also their perceived susceptibility as suggested by the Health Belief Model developed at the U.S. Public Health Service during the 1950’s.
However Gadarian, Goodman and Pepinsky (2020) argue that in the United States the adoption of these and similar behaviours has been deeply political, and believe the messaging from the administration of President Trump may have produced a differential mass public health response among his supporters.
They report that the American response to the pandemic is influenced by a media environment soaked in misinformation, partisan infighting, and messaging from President Trump that undermines health experts. For example from downplaying its severity by comparing it to the seasonal flu, and saying it was “under control” and that “the government is doing a great job” (Qiu and Bouchard 2020). Furthermore, divergence in containment and mitigation strategies between state governors has exposed the deeply political nature of public health responses in 2020 (Elliott 2020). In order to produce widely shared pro-social health behaviour it would seem vital that public health messaging must deliberately transcend political preferences for the good of the population rather than have politicians attempting to score points.
Will the ongoing pandemic of Coronavirus create shifts in people’s attitudes, values and trust?
The principles and beliefs we hold as individuals and social groups often determine the way in which we behave towards each other. By chance the Dutch-based group Glocalities had been collecting data in China as part of a global survey on trust and values when the Coronavirus outbreak began. The survey was conducted online among 2,022 Chinese between January 23rd and March 13th and the researchers were able to separate survey responses into before and after February 5th allowing for a comparison as a result of the lockdown. The main findings showed that people placed much more emphasis on taking health precautions, etiquette and that rules surrounding good manners were increasingly important. Of course, we generally have seen this trend in the UK with people respecting each other in terms of social distancing but also the public outrage at those who stripped shelves bare through panic buying leaving little if anything for those who may be considered to have needed it most eg: the vulnerable and key workers such as NHS and care home staff.
Additionally, the Glocalities researchers found that individualistic behaviour was seen as unacceptable and there was a much greater appreciation of those who contribute to the greater needs of society. Martijn Lampert, research director of Glocalities suggests that in times of isolation people increasingly value each other, especially those who are at the frontline in battling the crisis. For example, people around the UK have taken part in a "Clap for Carers" tribute, saluting NHS and care workers dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and over 750,000 people volunteered their services to help protect the NHS and save lives. Furthermore, the exploits of fund raisers such as Captain Tom Moore a 99-year-old war veteran who has raised more than £18m (as of 17/04/2020) for the NHS, have received widespread recognition.
The survey also found there was more desire for order and structure which we might expect in times of uncertainty and that there was rising trust in education and institutions. In the UK, the importance of schools and teachers has been brought into focus with home schooling arrangements and online learning being put in place almost overnight. Teachers’ expertise and adaptability to teaching and assessing through different environments and methods has never been more appreciated. As key workers teachers have played a vital role in allowing other key workers such as health professionals to carry out their jobs. In addition, teachers have had a crucial role to play in maintaining children’s education, protecting vulnerable children and often providing free school meals to the children who need it most.
The Glocalities research team indicate this pattern of shifts in values is likely to be applicable to most affected countries and that the current pandemic will lead to an increase in collectivist values all over the world. People from all walks of life have shown themselves to be of service to others and have used their talents, means and determination to contribute in the fight against COVID-19.
Bibliography
Al-Rabiaah, A., Temsah, M. H., Al-Eyadhy, A. A., Hasan, G. M., Al-Zamil, F., Al-Subaie, S., Somily, A. M. (2020). Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) associated stress among medical students at a university teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Infection and Public Health, 1–5. Available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2020.01.005
Elliott, D. March 26, 2020. Responses to Coronavirus Outbreak Vary Greatly in the American South: NPR. Available at https://www.npr.org/2020/03/26/821899868/responses-to-coronavirus-outbreak-vary-greatly-in-the-american-south?t=1587124796141
Gadarian, Goodman, & Pepinsky, (2020) Partisanship, Health Behavior, and Policy Attitudes in the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic (March 27, 2020). Available at https://ssrn.com/abstract=3562796 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3562796
Heymann, D. L., & Shindo, N. (2020). COVID-19: what is next for public health? The Lancet, 395(10224), 542–545. Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7138015/
Lampert, M., & Blanksma, A. China COVID-19 Lockdown Trend Report March 21, 2020 Available at https://www.glocalities.com/latest/reports/china-lockdown-trends
Qiu, L., and Bouchard, M. Tracking Trump's Claims on the Threat From Coronavirus 2020 [cited March 26, 2020 Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-fact-check.html
Sorokowski, P., Groyecka, A., Kowal, M., Sorokowska, A., Białek, M., Lebuda, I.,Zdybek, P & Karwowski, M. (2020). Information about pandemic increases negative attitudes toward foreign groups: a case of COVID-19 outbreak. Available at https://psyarxiv.com/j23vt/
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