Effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on Social Behaviours: From a Social Dilemma Perspective
The health crisis of the COVID-19 outbreak has global impacts on humanity and theeconomy. Such pandemic effects also influence human behaviour; issues of panic buying(overbuying) and noncompliance with government orders and law among individuals areevident. However, the underlying understanding of such behaviours due to the pandemic remainsunclear. Therefore, this perspective paper adopts the social dilemma theory and microeconomicsconcepts to analyse and explain the effects of COVID-19 on social behavioural reactions. Itattempts to address the questions of what and why are the behaviours of individuals shown duringthe coronavirus pandemic and showcase how the theory is associated with the current socialphenomena. Real scenarios based on media reporting from the sociodemographic context ofMalaysia, concerning the following issues; (i) competition over daily essentials; (ii) self-honestyof individuals; and (iii) adherence to government policies and measures enforcement(governance) were discussed. A conceptual framework was developed to illustrateinterrelationships between social dilemma concepts and the phenomena. In essence, due to fear,uncertainty, and greed, self-interest and opportunistic (defective/unethical) behaviours of mostindividuals prevailing over societal collective interest amid the pandemic have been prevalentlyobserved in the above instances, although a cooperative choice can eventually result in a betteroutcome for everyone. Not only do these non-cooperative behaviours of individuals createinconveniences, dissatisfactions, and other forms of negative externalities, they also incentiviseothers to act selfishly, if no restrictions are imposed, which may eventually cause governmentintervention failures. This paper demonstrates the relevancy of the social dilemmas theory inbetter understanding fundamental human behavioural reactions amid the health crisis and theimportance of incorporating the findings into government policymaking. Thesesociopsychological considerations help the government formulate holistic measures, namelystringent sanctions and monitoring enforcement, as well as incentivising cooperative andcompliant behaviours of the public, which then contribute to curbing the COVID-19 pandemicmore effectively.