Human Behaviour in Pandemics

This timely interdisciplinary book brings together a wide spectrum of theoretical concepts and their empirical applications in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, informing our understanding of the social and psychological bases of a global crisis. Written by an author team of psychologists and sociologists, the volume provides comprehensive coverage of phenomena such as fear, risk, judgement and decision making, threat and uncertainty, group identity and cohesion, social and institutional trust, and communication in the context of an international health emergency.The topics have been grouped into four main chapters, focusing on the individual, group, social, and communication perspectives of the issues affecting or being affected by the pandemic, based on over 740 classic and current references of peer-reviewed research and contextualized with an epidemiological perspective discussed in the introduction. The volume finishes with two special sections, with a chapter on cultural specificity of the social impact of pandemics, focusing specifically on both Islam and Hinduism, and a chapter on the cross-national differences in policy responses to the current health crisis. Providing not just a reference for academic research, but also short-term and long-term policy solutions based on successful strategies to combat adverse social, cognitive, and emotional consequences, this is the ideal resource for academics and policymakers interested in social and psychological determinants of individual reactions to pandemics, as well as in fields such as economics, management, politics, and medical care.

Malgorzata Kossowska, full professor in psychology, head of the Social Psychology Unit and Center for Social Cognitive Studies in the Institute of Psychology at Jagiellonian University. Natalia Letki, associate professor at the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies and Centre for Excellence in Social Sciences, University of Warsaw. Tomasz Zaleskiewicz, full professor in psychology, head of the Center for Research in Economic Behavior at SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Wroclaw, Poland. Szymon Wichary, associate professor at the Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow.

PART 1: INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, AND SOCIETY IN TIMES OF PANDEMICS. INTRODUCTION. 1. INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE. 2. GROUP PERSPECTIVE. 3. SOCIETAL LEVEL. 4. COMMUNICATION IN TIMES OF PANDEMIC. 5. SUMMARY. PART 2: CULTURE AND POLICY IN TIMES OF PANDEMICS: CASE STUDIES. 6. The COVID-19 EPIDEMIC IN POLAND, AS OF SUMMER 2021. 7. PANDEMIC AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES: EXAMPLES FROM ISLAM AND HINDUISM. 8. PUBLIC POLICY RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE. REFERENCES.