Social psychological patterns of managing the coronavirus disease

Editor's Notes

• #3: Human beings are a highly specialized species. We possess both the intelligence and ability to learn and adapt to various situations including the COVID-19 crisis. In that case, we are able to focus and to respond to a variety of circumstances as individuals, family, community members, independent states and as a family of nations. The intent of certain intervention strategies is to organize our social learning environment in order to provide cues or supports, as well as establish albeit different routines, information and certain precautionary measures that may foster a sense of safety and predictability amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• #4: The outbreak of the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses a significant threat to all countries. At present, the disease has no particular treatment. As a result, there is a compelling need to find substitute means to stop its expansion. Humans have had to contend with various threats including diseases and natural disasters over time. Anything that reduces the risk of infection in the first place should therefore have offered a distinct survival advantage. Subsequently, humans have evolved a set of conscious and unconscious psychological responses which Schaller (2011) terms as ‘behavioural immune system’. These systems act as a first line of defence to reduce our contact with various potential pathogens.
• #5: Humans are a social species that have evolved in various ways to live both as individuals as and in groups (family, community, nations). The behavioural immune system has also been modified over time to ensure appropriate interactions with one another and with diverse people based on several social variables (age, gender, religion, ethnicity/race, political orientation, social economic status and other would be classifications). Thus, our interactions are both conscious and unconscious. In that case, we can instinctively introduce various intervention measure such as improved health hygiene and social distancing in order to deal with a crisis such as COVID-19.
• #6: The first step in this process is accurate (correct) information, an effective understanding of the coronavirus disease. This will in turn alter and modify our moral decision making process, our emotions. Then, our human behavioural immune system must also be modified so that our interactions with one another and with other people can be effectively minimised to avoid infection of COVID-19. in the end, this will lead to a kind of instinctive social distancing.
• #7: It must be accepted that the influence of the behavioural immune system varies from individual to individual, just as various communities will have certain behavioural patterns that are unique to their social cultural orientation. In that case, people may not perceive the same thing (danger or risk) in the same way. For COVID-19, attempts must be made to educate people on the intricacies of the disease. The learning of ways to cope with COVID-19 must take care of individual differences so that each of our individual and communal actions acts as a pivotal frame that shapes our frame of reference.
• #8: It is understandable that there are differences in intensity and sensitivity, but, there must be consensus with COVID-19. This is because certain people have a particularly sensitive behavioural immune system that makes them react in extraordinary ways to things or events (including people or illness) that they interpret as a potential risk, while others may be more casual, rebellious and/or ignorant. Thus, there are the general and specific exigencies. Perhaps this is why certain people are intense in their adherence to safety health precautions on COVID-19, and thus readily more respectful of the social distancing new norms than the average people who require more stringent rules and regulations. The more relaxed individuals (or communities) pose an increased threat of disease.
• #9: The World Health Organization (WHO) safety guidelines should relatively moderate shift in overall opinion across the world population. There are several management decisions by governments on quarantining, social isolation, screening, and border and flight suspensions due to the severity and anonymity of COVID-19. It is highly assured that these intervention strategies would enable confront the present pandemic. This in turn should lead to a positive lurch in social attitudes. These multidisciplinary comprehensive measures are aimed to break the chains of COVID-19 transmission. It is therefore hoped that closure of social gatherings during the pandemic would reduce the total number of infections. Subsequently, this would slow the epidemic allowing an opportunity for a vaccine and other health benefits. Thus, the benefits of social distancing are substantial.
• #10: The new world order has repositioned individuals (in the same community, as well as diverse communities) to form a ‘new world’ that is space-full in conceptualisation. The precautions move adopted in non-pharmaceutical interventions move in three directions – first, by guaranteeing individuals, families and communities safety; second, by narrowing social contingencies (for example, social distancing, wearing of face masks); and, third by ensuring that all individuals adhere to the safety precautions. This is to offer the best standards in relation to dealing with COVID-19. Accordingly, the individual requires to rectify the situation through effective social management strategies.
• #11: Human beings as individuals and society are broadly interconnected. This necessitates social appropriate interventions, fineness and good health. Thus, we are embodied with each other, hence we must be affective and this is generally embedded within the human consciousness. The individual and the society/ community is therefore a joint entity.
• #12: The support for health policies has steadily increased with emphasis on improved health. Society assumes the explicit task of ensuring a healthy life. This is through a careful and meticulous relation between our thoughts and actions. Individual and everyday risks are a personal and communal responsibility. Therefore, whilst many individuals are responsible and thus taking safety precautions, there are still many others who are vulnerable as a result of failure to effectively manipulate their actions.
• #13: Social psychological shifts may not change the attitude of people. But, we must carefully consider how we can influence people’ personal reactions to the coronavirus disease. Some of the risks involving crowding in public places are people out to purchase none essential items, while others are unplanned /haphazard shopping, milling around shopping malls and other public places.
• #14: The emergence and subsequent global spread of the Coronavirus disease presents several challenges to health, government and the general public. Given the accelerated proliferation of the disease, it is imperative to recognize that countries are at different levels in terms of health facilities, and even in their preparedness to deal with a crisis such as COVID-19. Thus, both pharmaceutical and non pharmaceutical interventions will be adopted to deal with the crisis in order to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.
• #15: The social construction recognizes the ability of individuals to modify and alter their behaviours according to their own instincts and motives. This is because humans have a consciousness, and thus a person confirmed with COVID-19 will effectively work towards the prevention of infecting others. Similarly, medical and other professionals (including the enactment of certain laws) will aim at protecting others, while at the same time making attempts to bring healing to those affected by the ailment. At the same time, human beings dully recognise that we are not as free to define our social world. As such, we are interdependent on each other.
• #16: The emergence and subsequent global spread of the Coronavirus disease presents several challenges to health, government and the general public. Given the accelerated proliferation of the disease, it is imperative to recognize that countries are at different levels in terms of health facilities, and even in their preparedness to deal with a crisis such as COVID-19. Thus, both pharmaceutical and non pharmaceutical interventions will be adopted to deal with the crisis in order to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.
• #17: Behaviour is defined in a variety of ways, including appropriate or desired actions. In phenomenological terms, a community or society may perceive conduct in positive (conforming, acceptable) and negative (non-conforming, unacceptable) ways. In that case, certain actions may not, and do not correspond to the cultural conceptions, orientations, categories and expectations. Still, these cultural orientations exist in the constituted realm and established social understanding. Thus, though the actions in outlined in the above table have no adverse social bearings in everyday living, they are negatively construed as inappropriate in the present circumstances amidst COVID-19. This is the social psychological approach within the phenomenological framework of this presentation.
• #18: COVID-19 is not going to disappear as immediately as anticipated. Instead, a lot of people will be concerned about their health, jobs (with increasing unemployment as a result of major losses in business). Finances and social life. There will be less money in circulation and as the economic hardships escalate, millions of people will be usurped up by the poverty.
• #19: The nuanced understanding of COVID-19 does not ignore the uniqueness of individuals, their experiences and their personality. This is because individuals are capable of elucidating deeper understandings depending on their expereinces and motivations. Instead, it emphasizes on the emotional connectedness with the present crisis.
• #20: Low and middle income countries have to contend with several issues, including the influx in climate leading to frequent floods as well as rampant droughts. Once physical lockdown ends, a new way of life will start characterised by social economic political manoeuvres. However, it is essential that we learn to deal with the new world order. Some social distancing and spaced social interaction will continue for sometime. Additionally, there will certainly be a great need to refocus on health in developing countries.
• #21: Initiatives entail the acquisition of a variety of skills in personal and community health, including for community workers as well as improvement of the social-economic, political structure. This must be culturally and historically relevant for adoption in independent states and hence the schema above. Initially, the thrust of the discussion will arouse fear and anxiety but will slowly lessen the apprehension as efforts between the citizenry and the state reconcile. This, in turn, has the potential for a more realistic perception of life.
• #24: 28
• #25: 28
• #26: 28
• #27: 28
• #28: It is often challenging to infer the impact of our behaviour, including certain procedures that we may refer to as appropriate or inappropriate. This is because even aspects such as social distancing are susceptible to philosophical debate in that they can impact on our psychological wellbeing. Nonetheless, there is need to adopt certain interventions in a bid to prevent infection with COVID-19.
• #29: As many as 90 % of the population will present with significant symptoms of fears and anxiety following COVID-19. This estimation is based on observations of behaviour which may be impacted by stress and anxiety responses that are the result of differences in the brain and the neurosensory system. The COVID-19 pandemic elicits uncertainties, fears and apprehension in all of us. In that case, we need to take the opportunity to alleviate our fears by gaining insight into how fear and anxiety affects human behaviour. This is because heightened anxiety is the everyday lived experience of people will affect children, young people as well as adults and most certainly the more marginalized members of our society.
• #30: One of the objectives of this presentation is to offer a more rigorous description leading to enhanced understanding of COVID-19. The lived experiences such as compliance to safety precautions can help explain the nature of lived experiences, that can provide additional and vivid meaning to lived experiences. This allows individuals to ascribe meaning to their daily activities such as their compliance (strategic, ritual or non-compliance) to health interventions.
• #31: Ultimately, the thrust of transformation is understanding the need for mitigation factors against COVID-19. This is significant in that it levels of compliance could mark a stage from harmless to lethal infection.
• #32: The question we pose from a phenomenological perspective is this: does the individual and the community (family, society, nation and the world) comprehend the effects if the coronavirus disease? Can the positions of both the individual and the community have anything in common, despite the primary of consciousness in each? In that case, a shift in perception for each of them would create an intuitive singularity (in the individual) and a multiplicity (society/community) in meaning of life aimed at curbing COVID-19. This is the intended aim in the personalised social psychological framework.
• #33: The personalized effect of the COVID-19 events is related to lived meanings and experiences in the real world. Such a highly personalised narrative becomes a manifestation of the social cultural meanings. Have a lot of compassion, look after yourself first, including your physical and mental health, then look after your family, neighbours and others as well. We must fight this pandemic together.
• #34: The basic insight and meanings in phenomenology is highlight human experience. Thus, actions including their intentions cannot necessarily be grouped in categories in which they are right or wrong, good or bad. The transcendental phenomenology in terms of meaning enables us to review our actions with regard to COVID-19 as demonstrated in the above table. This in turn enables the individual to find meaning and work out their quest of intentionality about COVID-19.
• #35: COVID-19 is not a death sentence. People who have COVID-19 and other people who are being treated for COVID-19 must be encouraged to avoid stigma and discrimination. Even if a person has COVID-19, they are likely to recover from COVID-19 and their life will go on with their job, families and loved ones. We must separate a person from having an identity that is defined by COVID-19 in order to reduce the stigma. That is why the World Health Organization discourages use of words and phrases that stigmatise the individual such as ‘victims’, ‘COVID-19 families’ and ‘COVID-19 cases’.
• #36: It is feared that a mental illness crisis caused by psychological distress is looming as millions of people worldwide are surrounded by death and disease. This includes the social distancing and isolation, the economic turmoil leading to joblessness and poverty. There is the fear and uncertainty as well as the anxiety caused by the pandemic of COVID-19. This framework enables both individual and the community to make sense of their world. The phenomenological framework enables to transcend meaning which is presupposed and enacted in our understanding and interpretation of COVID-19.
• #37: COVID-19 has disrupted our lives, and the disruptive effects including the interruption of our lives (schooling, college, work, business, travel) as well as social interactions with spouse, children, family, friends and colleagues is highly intriguing. This includes our social interactions as we adopt social distancing. COVID-19 now dominates our daily lives. However, it is imperative that we maintain appropriate contact and stay in constant touch in order to ensure our overall well-being.
• #38: People are distressed by the immediate social economic and health impact of COVID-19. There is the physical isolation, whereas many other people are afraid of being infected, dying, or losing family members, friends and colleagues.
• #39: The coronavirus disease has caused worldwide concern, fears, stress and anxiety. All of these are natural and normal reactions to a disaster. The uncertain circumstances is often difficult for everyone. The fears and anxiety should be duly acknowledged and not ignored or spat at. We need to better understood and address the fears and anxieties as individuals (spouse, child/ren, family member, colleague, friend), communities, nations and the world.
• #40: Learn to check on each other, including family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. You can call or video-chat, contact each other via the phone or Internet services. We must be both mindful of, and sensitive to the unique needs of every one of us, particularly children, young people, aged and significantly other vulnerable members of our society such as the physically sick, physically challenges, persons with mental health needs and the less privileged members of our society. These people must be taken care of as we take good care of our spouses, children, family and friends.
• #41: The stress and anxiety arises out of several issues that each and every one of us are facing everyday. There is the lockdown, just as we are rigorously taking precautions to avoid infection. People manage and react to stressful situations such as COVID-19 in numerous ways. For instance, there are those who have already overcome the shock and disbelief of the pandemic, while for others, the events are slowly unfolding, while for many others the events are so rapid to their lives. In that case, individuals and communities have varying levels of distress.
• #42: Children’s lives have been enormously disrupted by the coronavirus disease. Children are likely to experience fear and anxiety over the unfolding events. They will be concerned and worried whether and when they will resume school and if things will get back to normal. They will be fearful of their lives, if they or their family or friends will be infected with COVID-19 and fear of death (fear of their own death, the death of a friend, family or relative/s).
• #43: There are several action points to mitigate the short and long term effects of COVID-19. These questions focus on individual actions in order to elicit appropriate behaviour. The emphasis is on convergence and divergence of experiences, as well as maintaining a nuanced analysis of COVID-19. The lived experience involves effective participation in various ways consistent with precautions against the corona virus disease.
• #44: Our actions are not static but are flexible, and hence can be constantly altered with societal perceptions such as COVID-19. Again, these questions focus on individual actions rated on a scale. The items have a structured approach aligned to an experiential approach. The questions are aimed to elicit appropriate behaviour towards COVID-19.
• #45: This presentation provides insights into COVID-19 with a self-reflective approach. The above table is aimed to provide a brief overview and rationale for various actions in a bid to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. This creates a body of knowledge inclusive of common values and social norms that includes an exploration and understanding of the meaning that people assign to their everyday experiences. It is through such a discourse that individuals can affirm and re-affirm their perceptions of certain actions as is explored in COVID-19. The new (adjusted) norms and values serve as guidelines to our actions and in turn governs our behaviour accordingly.
• #46: COVID-19 has created an unprecedented time for all of us, young and old, males and females, employed and unemployed. This is especially critical for children and young people as they are facing an enormous disruption to their lives. Schools and colleges are completely disrupted, not interrupted anymore as the lockdown is prolonged. Everyone is highly concerned about what is going on. Additionally, many people particularly children are likely to experience worry, fear and anxiety. There will be several fears like: will I be infected? Will I die? Who will remain? What happens next? Is the world coming to an end? Will life ever be normal again? Certain types of fears may be similar between children and adults, young and old people.
• #47: Most of these habits are considered appropriate activities undertaken by divergent people as part of social activity. However, for COVID-19, these are considered (and indeed they are) highly inappropriate, risky and harmful to the individual and those around them, such as their family, friends, colleagues and the general public. Societal opinion on social activities has also been greatly altered, and new norms and values devised such as social distancing.
• #48: COVID-19 will not go away as fast as people would hope for. Given how the COVID-19 pandemic has compressed our lives, and is still impacting on all of us, both the individual within their respective community, and the community must explore various ways to cope with the present disaster, now and in future.
• #49: For the purpose of COVID-19 and future anticipated disasters, there is need to design age and gender appropriate strategies that take into consideration the needs of the varied communities. This will lead to greater understanding of children and young people, adults as well as the more marginalised populations. For instance, the incidence of social distancing and restrictions has different effects on a wide range of people, and can certainly be disastrous if not well handled with children, young people, the aged and persons with mental illness.
• #50: With or without COVID-19, there is need for more public health preparedness and efficient clinical management of our health, particularly mental health. We must seek to investigate and manage the complexities of our social and psychological world. This is because we share numerous similarities as well as differences. Thus, we need to explore the ‘what,’ ‘why’ and ‘how’ of our lives, as opposed to ‘how much’ and ‘how many’ of our everyday preferences in money, friends and property. Psychological wellness will impact differently in children, young people and adults, as well as people with special needs and the highly marginalised communities such as old people, persons who are challenges in various ways and others with mental illness. We must create our own future as individuals, families, communities and nations.
• #51: Crisis situations require a variety of interventions to address the problem. Thus, we must share our experiences, success and failures alike, in offering an opportunity to learn from each other. In any case, our experiences are both alike and general because they constitute our own human conventions or mental models. COVID-19 places us in a predicament where we have an illness and a crisis since the pandemic has immense health as well as social political economic magnifications. We will overcome.
• #54: Acknowledgements We are grateful to the University of Nairobi for the opportunity to serve as Senior Lecturers in the Departments of Psychology, and Professor in Sociology and Social Work. We are sincerely grateful to the World Health Organisation for the continuously updated information and data on COVID-19 that inspired us to write this paper and forms the basis of it.   Declaration of Conflicting Interests The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest concerning the authorship and/or publication of this article.