Contagious Health Risk and Precautionary Social Distancing

BackgroundSince humans are social animals, social relations are incredibly important. However, in cases of contagious diseases such as the flu, social contacts also pose a health risk. According to prominent health behavior change theories, perceiving a risk for one’s health motivates precautionary behaviors. The “behavioral immune system” approach suggests that social distancing might be triggered as a precautionary, evolutionarily learned behavior to prevent transmitting contagious diseases through social contact. This study examines the link between personal risk perception for an infectious disease and precautionary behavior for disease-prevention in the context of social relationships.MethodsAt 2-week intervals during the first semester, 100 Psychology freshmen indicated their flu risk perception, whether they had been ill during the previous week, and their friendships within their freshmen network for eight time points.ResultsSocial network analysis revealed that participants who reported a high flu risk perception listed fewer friends (B = −0.10, OR = 0.91, p = 0.026), and were more likely to be ill at the next measuring point (B = 0.26, OR = 1.30, p = 0.005). Incoming friendship nominations increased the likelihood of illness (B = 0.14, OR = 1.15, p = 0.008), while the reduced number of friendship nominations only marginally decreased this likelihood (B = −0.07, OR = 0.93, p = 0.052).ConclusionIn accordance with the concept of a “behavioral immune system,” participants with high flu risk perception displayed a social precautionary distancing even when in an environment, in which the behavior was ineffective to prevent an illness.

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Risk perception for the Fukushima Nuclear Plant Accident: An Analysis from the Behavioral Immune System Hypothesis

The Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the Japanese Psychological Association ◽

10.4992/pacjpa.78.0_2ev-1-011 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 78 (0) ◽

pp. 2EV-1-011-2EV-1-011

Author(s):

Kai Hiraishi ◽

Koki Ikeda ◽

Kunihiro Yokota ◽

Daisuke Nakanishi

Keyword(s):

Immune System ◽

Risk Perception ◽

Nuclear Plant ◽

Behavioral Immune System

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Social distancing from foreign individuals as a disease-avoidance mechanism: Testing the assumptions of the behavioral immune system theory during the COVID-19 pandemic

Social Psychological Bulletin ◽

10.32872/spb.4389 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Aleksandra Szymkow ◽

Natalia Frankowska ◽

Katarzyna Gałasińska

Keyword(s):

System Theory ◽

Immune System ◽

Social Distance ◽

Social Consequences ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Behavioral Immune System ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Mediation Analyses ◽

Theoretical Approaches ◽

Mediational Models

Topics of prejudice, discrimination, and negative attitudes toward outgroups have attracted much attention of social scientists during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the preference for social distancing can originate from the perception of threat. One of the theoretical approaches that offers an explanation for avoidance tendencies is the behavioral immune system theory. As a motivational system that aims to identify and avoid pathogens, the behavioral immune system has been shown to be triggered by various cues of a potential disease threat (e.g., the risk of contracting a virus), which further leads to negative social consequences such as xenophobia, negative attitudes toward various social groups, and distancing tendencies. We present a correlational study (N = 588; Polish sample) that was designed to test mediational models derived from the behavioral immune system theory, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a source of natural disease threat. In serial mediation analyses we show that the perceived threat of COVID-19 translates into greater preferred social distance from foreign individuals, and that this occurs in two ways: 1) via pathogen disgust (but not sexual or moral disgust), and 2) via germ aversion (but not perceived infectability). Both pathogen disgust and germ aversion further predict general feelings toward foreign individuals, which finally determine the preferred social distance from these individuals. The results support the behavioral immune system theory as an important concept for understanding social distancing tendencies.

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Health Risk Perception and Risk Communication

Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1177/2372732217720223 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 163-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Ralf Schmälzle ◽

Britta Renner ◽

Harald T. Schupp

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Risk Perception ◽

Health Risk ◽

Risk Communication ◽

Risk Perceptions ◽

Protective Action ◽

Health Behavior Change ◽

Personal Risk ◽

The Brain ◽

Health Risk Perception

Risk perceptions are a prerequisite for protective action. Both scientists and practitioners need to understand the multifaceted nature of health risk perception and risk communication. This article reviews insights from psychophysiological research, with a focus on neuroscientific approaches that examine the biological basis of risk perception in the brain and capture the brain response to health and risk messages. Specifically, we discuss the key role of intuitive processes for personal risk perception and the difference between absolute and comparative risk. We then describe the relationship between risk perception and health behavior change and present recent work that measures responses to health prevention messages. Finally, we discuss implications for translation to public health policy and point to needs for future research. A better understanding of the biological roots of personal risk perception and how these can be addressed via risk communication informs policymakers in designing effective public health interventions.

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Co-Housing Response to Social Isolation of COVID-19 Outbreak, with a Focus on Gender Implications

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13137203 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (13) ◽

pp. 7203

Author(s):

Emanuele Giorgi ◽

Lucía Martín Martín López ◽

Rubén Garnica-Monroy ◽

Aleksandra Krstikj ◽

Carlos Cobreros ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Isolation ◽

Social Relations ◽

Daily Life ◽

Social Impacts ◽

Research Projects ◽

Open Spaces ◽

Daily Lives ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Design Considerations ◽

Social Habits

COVID-19 forced billions of people to restructure their daily lives and social habits. Several research projects have focused on social impacts, approaching the phenomenon on the basis of different issues and scales. This work studies the changes in social relations within the well-defined urban-territorial elements of co-housing communities. The peculiarity of this research lies in the essence of these communities, which base their existence on the spirit of sharing spaces and activities. As social distancing represented the only effective way to control the outbreak, the research studied how the rules of social distancing impacted these communities. For this reason, a questionnaire was sent to 60 communities asking them to highlight the changes that the emergency imposed on the members in their daily life and in the organization of common activities and spaces. A total of 147 responses were received and some relevant design considerations emerged: (1) the importance of feeling part of a “safe” community, with members who were known and deemed reliable, when facing a health emergency; and (2) the importance of open spaces to carry out shared activities. Overall, living in co-housing communities was evaluated as an “extremely positive circumstance” despite the fact that the emergency worsened socialization.

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Get Close to the Robot: The Effect of Risk Perception of COVID-19 Pandemic on Customer–Robot Engagement

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18126314 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (12) ◽

pp. 6314

Author(s):

Jifei Wu ◽

Xiangyun Zhang ◽

Yimin Zhu ◽

Grace Fang Yu-Buck

Keyword(s):

Risk Perception ◽

Perceived Risk ◽

Hospitality Industry ◽

Positive Influence ◽

Mediating Effect ◽

Service Robots ◽

Industry Analysis ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Risk Seeking ◽

Positive Effect

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on customer–robot engagement in the Chinese hospitality industry. Analysis of a sample of 589 customers using service robots demonstrated that the perceived risk of COVID-19 has a positive influence on customer–robot engagement. The positive effect is mediated by social distancing and moderated by attitudes towards risk. Specifically, the mediating effect of social distancing between the perceived risk of COVID-19 and customer–robot engagement is stronger for risk-avoiding (vs. risk-seeking) customers. Our results provide insights for hotels when they employ service robots to cope with the shock of COVID-19 pandemic.

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Multiple Health Risk Perception and Information Processing Among African Americans and Whites Living in Poverty

Risk Analysis ◽

10.1111/j.1539-6924.2011.01621.x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 31 (11) ◽

pp. 1789-1799 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Shelly Hovick ◽

Vicki S. Freimuth ◽

Ashani Johnson-Turbes ◽

Doryn D. Chervin

Keyword(s):

Information Processing ◽

Risk Perception ◽

African Americans ◽

Health Risk ◽

Multiple Health ◽

Health Risk Perception

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Modeling behavioral intention toward traveling in times of a health-related crisis

Journal Of Vacation Marketing ◽

10.1177/13567667211024703 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 135676672110247

Author(s):

Diep Ngoc Su ◽

Kim Phuong Thi Tran ◽

Ly Ngoc Thi Nguyen ◽

Tram Huyen Thi Thai ◽

Thanh Hoai Thi Doan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Perception ◽

Health Risk ◽

Information Search ◽

Behavioral Intention ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Online Networks ◽

Behavior Intention ◽

Tpb Model ◽

Health Related ◽

Health Risk Perception

This study proposes an integrated model based on the Risk Perception Attitude (RPA) framework and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model to investigate behavioral intention toward traveling in times of a health-related crisis. A survey was conducted via online networks of travelers, yielding 338 valid cases. The findings indicate that health risk perception is affected by information search about the Covid-19 disease. The relationship between health risk perception and behavioral intention toward traveling during a health-related crisis is not direct, but indirect via health self-efficacy and attitude about their future trip. The study contributes to understand a cognitive process of tourists’ behavior intention toward traveling in a health-related crisis. Practically, this study’s findings provide tourists, government agencies, tourism marketers, and policy-makers and other tourism stakeholders with important suggestions for tourism recovery during and after the pandemic.

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Impacts of Social Distancing on Pedestrian Behavior and Risk Perception

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/1071181321651287 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 65 (1) ◽

pp. 1302-1306

Author(s):

Kyra B. Phillips ◽

Kelly N. Byrne ◽

Branden S. Kolarik ◽

Audra K. Krake ◽

Young C. Bui ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Risk Perception ◽

Perceived Risk ◽

Close Contact ◽

The United States ◽

Survey Study ◽

Pedestrian Behavior ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

Over Time

Since COVID-19 transmission accelerated in the United States in March 2020, guidelines have recommended that individuals wear masks and limit close contact by remaining at least six feet away from others, even while outdoors. Such behavior is important to help slow the spread of the global pandemic; however, it may require pedestrians to make critical decisions about entering a roadway in order to avoid others, potentially creating hazardous situations for both themselves and for drivers. In this survey study, we found that while overall patterns of self-reported pedestrian activity remained largely consistent over time, participants indicated increased willingness to enter active roadways when encountering unmasked pedestrians since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Participants also rated the risks of encountering unmasked pedestrians as greater than those associated with entering a street, though the perceived risk of passing an unmasked pedestrian on the sidewalk decreased over time.

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