Hunt the natural, it comes back at a gallop. Almost a year to the day after the introduction of the first confinement, research carried out in three European countries highlights the negative consequences of health restriction measures on our behavior and our mood.
- The shock produced by this unprecedented and trying period would push us to take more risks despite the threat of the virus.
- The period brought with it a tendency towards individualism and intolerance towards others.
- It felt like the world was coming to an end and people preferred to enjoy it today, immediately, without thinking about tomorrow, the researchers concluded.
Fitnesshomemade bread, financial savings, closer ties with loved ones… While some believe they have succeeded in reaping the benefits of confinement, these measures would also have had the effect of bringing back our bad habits and making us make bad decisions, points out this study published in Scientific Reports.
Carried out by the Open Evidence research group of the Open University of Catalonia (Spain) in collaboration with international universities and BDI Schleinger Group Market Research, this work focused on the “invisible” impacts of the measures taken during the first and second wave of the virus on the citizens of three countries of the European Union.
The study shows that the shock produced by this unprecedented and trying period would push us to take more risks despite the threat of the virus. The authors of the publication also note a tendency to individualism and intolerance towards others.
Risk taking and hasty decisions
To reach these conclusions, the researchers recruited nearly 5,000 volunteers from Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom. During the first and second waves of the pandemic, participants were asked to answer questions relating to their physical fitness, their mental health, their professional life as well as their level of stress. The scientists then assessed the cognitive function of the volunteers, as well as their attitudes, in particular those related to decision-making or altruism.
The results show that the participants were more inclined to make decisions on the spot, for example leaving the city to settle in the countryside. “These were decisions for which the assessment of costs and benefits was strongly conditioned by the pandemic. It felt like the world was coming to an end and people preferred to enjoy it today, immediately, without thinking about tomorrow“, analyzes Francisco Lupiáñez, professor of information and communication sciences and principal researcher of the study.
The researchers also note a frustration linked to health restrictions such as curfew measures or the wearing of masks, which in the long term would have ended up encouraging risk-taking among some participants. “Instead of being more careful in times of a pandemic, they took risks, because they couldn’t take it anymore (…) As for their relationships with others, some wanted those who were not wearing a mask or evading the restrictions are sanctioned, when they themselves were more likely to make riskier choices“, observes Professor Lupiáñez.
“It is important to take these aspects into account, in order to design better responses and communication campaigns for future pandemics.“, conclude the authors of the research.
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