In a Crisis, People Adapt Quickly
At the moment there is a lot of talk about “social distancing”: what it means is physical distancing. Social gatherings, on the other hand, are more important in times of crisis than ever. It helps us to manage crises and to stay healthy when we join together in groups. We call it “social cure”.
Those who looked into the media before the pandemic could sometimes get the impression that society is morally at its very end. Now people sing together on balconies and celebrate supermarket employees and nurses as heroes. Is this surprising or logical?
On the one hand, it is logical that in such a crisis we consciously deal with things that otherwise blend into everyday life — such as shopping. What is surprising is how calm people have been with the situation so far. People in the queues carefully keep their distance, and in front of the supermarket, they wait patiently until it is their turn.
Humans have learned in the course of evolution that they can only survive if they join together in groups. This is deep in our genes. Each of us has a strong need to belong somewhere — this is even more evident in crises. On the other hand, in such a situation, the focus is also more on personal needs, and then selfishness comes to light. Both tendencies are not mutually common: I can act in solidarity and five minutes later turn out to be an egoist and make an ego panic buy with 20 packs of toilet paper, 100 pasta sauces, 500 bottles of water — and 10 guns.
The mood could change if there are supply shortages or too many deaths as a result of the infections. If there are many deaths as a result of the coronavirus, people will be even stricter in complying with the protection regulations. But, there could be panic buying and also increased domestic violence, because people have to get along in a confined space while at the same time they are afraid of their health or their job.
Read the full blog on https://flushields.com/blogs/news/in-a-crisis-people-adapt-quickly
