'Supported isolation is likely to be particularly stressful'

n this kind of outbreak, does the psychological get considered as important in amongst all the biological and medical issues?

Human behaviour will be a key factor affecting the speed and spread of the coronavirus, and therefore an understanding of the psychosocial factors that affect human behaviour in this context will be essential.

Social psychology of the coronavirus: Will flies save us?

In urinals, not all men are as accurate as they could be, which often results in unsightly overflows that are costly to clean up. To overcome this problem, some urinal designers have come up with the clever idea of depicting a fly near the opening.

‘All interventions must stand up to scientific scrutiny’,

Professor of Behavioural Science and Security Brooke Rogers OBE (King’s College London) is a social psychologist whose research explores risk communication, along with perceptions of, and responses to, risk and threat. She pointed out that the UK government has had pandemic diseases on their radar for many years.

Can we make jokes about coronavirus?,

The Onion’s timeless masterpiece, ‘That’s not funny: my brother died that way’ is a useful reminder that nothing is funny for everyone, everywhere. This lack of a universal determinant for humour can collide with our natural desire to make jokes and make light of difficult topics: people can feel that a joke is ‘too soon’ or ‘that’s not a funny subject’ but there is no law about what is too soon, or what is (and isn’t funny).

The truth about panic, OK, Not-OK in times of pandemic,

No self-respecting Hollywood disaster movie would be complete without a scene where crowd members flee in apparent blind panic, and through their over-reaction, lack of judgement and reason become the agents of their own destruction.

Keep calm, and listen to the experts,

s a nation seemingly poised for the apocalypse, many Britons have spent the last fortnight stockpiling toilet rolls, dried pasta and UHT milk, leading some supermarkets to enforce a style of rationing not too dissimilar to WW2. What we are seeing might be described by some as a form of mass hysteria and panic, with seemingly little regard to the facts and expert advice being given to us.

How will you help to sustain collective efficacy?

Daniella Watson has personally and professionally been part of the collective response to Covid-19.

The outbreak shows us the psychological makeup of our society,

There are a whole range of factors involved in how the situation will unfold. This will range from the individual level (e.g. individuals’ adherence to official guidelines) to the group level (e.g. how small and larger groups will regulate their behaviour and norms to limit the spread) and finally to the national level (e.g. what guidance will be provided and how, as well as how movements in and out of countries will be managed). So the answer is quite tricky, and no definite outcomes can be predicted.

Don’t personalise, collectivise!,

The way we deal with the coronavirus is bound up with the way we think about society and about the individual. And the problem is that we are in danger of getting it wrong on all counts, with the consequence that we will be less effective in containing the virus. There is nothing new about us being wrong. But this time, lives are at stake.

The facts on coronavirus aren’t all scary. So why so much fear?