

In this section, we discuss how people are likely to perceive and respond to threats and risk during a pandemic and downstream consequences for decision-making and intergroup relations. For example, the bubonic plague killed approximately 25% of the European population 3. Historically, infectious diseases have been responsible for the greatest human death tolls. We call for the scientific community to mobilize rapidly to produce research to directly inform policy and individual and collective behaviour in response to the pandemic. In the sections that follow, we try to describe the quality of evidence to facilitate careful, critical engagement by readers. Thus, our discussion often draws from different circumstances than the current pandemic (for example, laboratory experiments examining hypothetical scenarios), and the quality of the evidence cited varies substantially (for example, correlational studies vs field experiments single studies vs systematic reviews of substantial evidence). Insights and implications for policy should be interpreted with caution because there is very little published social science research on the current pandemic. We have highlighted relevant findings in each area as well as critical gaps in the literature. Furthermore, research on these topics is ongoing and, in many cases, far from settled. Research topics discussed here were identified by the corresponding authors as potentially relevant to pandemic response and thus are not exhaustive (for a review of research on specific actions, such as handwashing, face-touching and self-isolation, see ref.

For each area, we highlight relevant insights, discuss implications for policy makers, leaders and the public (Box 1) and note areas for future research.ĭue to space constraints, this paper provides a brief summary of each topic.
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We discuss topics that are broadly relevant to numerous stages of the current pandemic to help policy-makers, leaders and the public better understand how to manage threats, navigate different social and cultural contexts, improve science communication, align individual and collective interests, employ effective leadership and provide social and emotional support (see Fig. While efforts to develop pharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19 are under way, the social and behavioural sciences can provide valuable insights for managing the pandemic and its impacts. The pandemic has led to a massive global public health campaign to slow the spread of the virus by increasing hand washing, reducing face touching, wearing masks in public and physical distancing. Within three months, the virus had spread to more than 118,000 cases and caused 4,291 deaths in 114 countries, leading the World Health Organization to declare a global pandemic. In December 2019, a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emerged, sparking an epidemic of acute respiratory syndrome (COVID-19) in humans, centred in Wuhan, China 1.

Nature Human Behaviour volume 4, pages 460–471 ( 2020) Cite this article Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response
