Cognitive bias explain the inconsistent citize response to Covid-19
In India, the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was devastating. People were hospitalised with severe illness, and many lost loved ones. It was distressing to watch, in disbelief and agony, patients being denied their right to breathe, with the constant fear that any one of us could be next. People expressed their concerns about how the State and the health system failed us, all while wondering what could have been done to save more lives.
With the second wave receding and the number of daily cases on the decline, lockdowns and curbs have been lifted in many states. This, naturally, has led to an increase in social interactions and travel. Market places and hill tourist destinations are being thronged by people. Viral videos and photographs have emerged of people making merry, with no masks on.
As images of those gasping for air fade from people’s memories, how has citizen behaviour flip-flopped to disregarding Covid-19-appropriate behaviour such as ensuring physical distancing and wearing masks? Why is the fear of the virus ebbing?
The inconsistent response to the threat of Covid-19 may be related to a systematic error in thinking known as cognitive bias. Cognitive biases affect our everyday lives, choices and actions. They occur as a result of the brain prioritising simplified information processing. Because people’s capacity for reasoning is limited, cognitive biases work as shortcuts — rule of thumb — that lead to relatively speedy decisions as the brain makes sense of what’s happening.
Many cognitive biases are likely at play here. Evidence of the confirmation bias, a type of cognitive bias, is people selectively favouring news stories that confirm a drop in new infections and lifting of curbs, as a sign of a reduced threat of Covid-19.
Similarly, the optimistic bias, another type of cognitive bias, may lead people to believe that they are less likely to suffer from the misfortune of falling sick like others. These biases are likely to distract people from taking precautions, and, thereby, influence
This is also the second year of the demic. People are tired. Fear, an adap emotional response to a threat or dan can feel burdensome when it is tentative continuous, because of which it is ins cient to motivate wise choices. The cons stress of illness, financial losses, layoffs disruption caused to children’s educat and crucially, deaths, along with the fo physical separation from friends and fa have led to widespread emotional exh tion, which is being called Covid-fatigu Covid fatigue, also called behavio fatigue, pandemic fatigue, or ad ence fatigue has gained currenc an explanatory framework explains the tendency of peop become naturally tired of prev ive rules and guidance. This fat may make people less motivate adhere to these rules over time
The World Health Organiza acknowledges the complex na of pandemic fatigue and rec mends four key strategies to maintain reinvigorate public support for protec behaviours. First, design effective poli and interventions based on evidence tail for people. Second, allow people to live t lives, while reducing risk. Third, ackn edge and address the hardships faced by ple. Last, and most importantly, engage zens as part of the solution. Community models can be engaged to help encou preventive behaviours.
Until a significant percentage of peop double-vaccinated, non-pharmaceu interventions such as avoiding crowded ces and rigorous mask etiquette ar utmost importance. While indivi responsibility to mitigate the risk of infec is high, people’s fluctuating fear of the v pandemic fatigue, and a lackadais approach in following preventive behav must be understood, acknowledged, addressed. Rules related to Covid-19-prev ive behaviour cannot be broken. A reinvi ated effort is needed to remind the publ the enormity of this disease.