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A Trick to Stop Touching Your Face
We didn’t sign a consent form, but we’re all participants in the world’s largest natural experiment in behavior change. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, millions if not billions of people around the globe are pleading for systemic solutions. In the meantime, we’re all trying to do what we can to flatten the curve of this crisis by not getting sick. The best practices are well known: Keep your distance, wash your hands, don’t touch your face. But there’s a big difference between knowing and doing. How can we close that gap? Psychologists sometimes describe the barrier to behavior change as the conflict between wants and shoulds.
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APS Journal Research Related to Epidemics: Publicly Available Online
To aid in understanding the current pandemic, published research related to epidemics has been made publicly available.
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New Research in Psychological Science
A sample of research on procrastination and precrastination, reading, pronouns and cultural success, and ovulatory cycle and women’s preferences.
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New Content From Perspectives on Psychological Science
A sample of articles on mind wandering, the implicit association test (IAT), mystical experiences, theory of mind, and health.
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How to Use Psychology to Convince People to Take Social Distancing Seriously
As COVID-19 cases rapidly spread across the U.S., we’ve experienced rapid social disruption. Schools, libraries, and businesses are closed; bands’ tours and sports leagues are on hiatus; experts recommend we wash our hands frequently and, most drastically, minimize contact with others through social distancing. Many people are following these guidelines by working from home if they can, canceling trips, and putting up with chapped hands, but others view these precautions as an overreaction. Some have even defiantly run toward the exact things experts warn against, taking advantage of lower travel fares, or insisting on dancing it out at an enormous senior community.
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Social Distancing Prevents Infections, But It Can Have Unintended Consequences
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, public health officials are asking us to do something that does not come naturally to our very social species: Stay away from each other. Such social distancing—avoiding large gatherings and close contact with others—is crucial for slowing the spread of the virus and preventing our health care system from getting overwhelmed. But it won’t be easy. ...
