Changes to behaviour ‘could be permanent’
BRITONS have switched from a “pleasure-seeking” to “pain-avoiding” mentality during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a psychologist who predicts that some behavioural changes linked to the virus could become permanent.
Ben Voyer, professor of psychological and behavioural science at the London School of Economics, said the virus had changed the mindset and individual habits of most people.
The longer social distancing and other restrictions remain in place, the more likely it is that the associated behavioural changes will become permanent, he has said.
“Generally speaking we have evolved to seek pleasure and avoid pain. In a pandemic, you suddenly shift from promotion to prevention – you pay much more attention to what could go wrong, and that change of mindset affects a lot of decisions you are making,” Prof Voyer said. “This is likely to perdure until visible reminders of the pandemic are gone – that is, until social distancing and all things described as ‘new normal’ stay in place.”
He said that this focus on avoiding pain explained the stockpiling of lavatory paper. While behavioural changes are likely to be temporary, he said that the longer restrictions are in place, the more this will affect habits long-term.
“If by September we are back to normal life, it is unlikely a lot of the things we have had to change to cope with the last few weeks will stay,” he said.
“But if it stays over 12 months or more this will have a more long-term effect.” Prof Voyer said that the focus on cash-free transactions during lockdown could hasten the process of Britain becoming a cash-free society.
“The divide in consumer use of cash is already generational – with older people using more cash than younger people,” he said. “The fact that vulnerable people are asked to keep sheltering while younger ones rejoin the working force could mean that shops accelerate the transition as they find consumers readily accepting this and being able to use dematerialised payment.
“In addition, vulnerable people may find it is perhaps better for them to adopt a different form of payment to be and feel safer.” He added that if further research found that the use of banknotes does not significantly contribute to the spread of coronavirus, this could mean that people revert to old habits of using cash.