Why do some people refuse to social distance? Experts have a few ideas
In the last few months, everyone’s worlds have been flipped upside down because of the coronavirus pandemic. Guidelines say we should wear masks in public, stand 6 feet apart and stay inside until further notice.
But social media posts and press interviews indicate people are still blatantly ignoring social distancing rules despite scientific evidence that says it’s needed to help stop the spread of COVID-19, the disease the virus causes.
The reasons can be found in psychology textbooks.
For one, humans aren’t too good at assessing risks, Cynthia Rohrbeck, an associate professor in clinical and community psychology at George Washington University, told Vox.
“Taking responsibility for the health of others comes up only infrequently, often in public discourse around smoking, drinking and driving, and vaccines,” the outlet reported, and that might make it more difficult to understand, Rohrbeck told the source.
Optimism bias — when someone believes they are less likely to experience a negative event — can also play a role, according to a preprint, or non peer-reviewed paper, published in March in the server PsyArXiv.
The study revealed that about half of the survey participants thought they were less likely to be infected by the new coronavirus compared to others, “demonstrating strong evidence of ‘unrealistic optimism’ in their personal expectations related to the COVID-19 epidemic,” the study of 4,348 people in France, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom said.
Another preprint by Stanford University researchers found that about 40% of respondents to a social media survey said they were ignoring social distancing recommendations made by their state, the study of 20,734 responses published in April in medRxiv said.
The most common reasons being work requirements, mental and physical health concerns and a belief that actions such as hand washing are enough to protect themselves from the virus, the study said.
Videos of a party in Chicago with about 1,000 people went viral Saturday, media outlets reported. A 23-year-old partygoer told MTO News that people were not worried about possible coronavirus infection.
“I’m not worried about (the coronavirus),” the women told the outlet. “... But if I didn’t have it before, I probably got it now. Oh well.”
Another psychologist said it straight up: People who ignore social distancing are narcissists.
Psychotherapist Sean Grover recalled a moment while grocery shopping in which a man without a mask and bumping into other people talked into his phone about the birthday party he was throwing himself later that day.
“Not only was he ignoring all health recommendations, he was throwing himself a birthday party as well. So much for quarantining,” Grover wrote in Psychology Today.
By thinking and acting communally, people can protect themselves and others from the virus more efficiently, Dr. Grover said, but narcissists are incapable of thinking this way.
“They lack empathy, have an omnipotent view of themselves, and like to believe that they are exempt from social norms. Is it any surprise that they ignore (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommendations?” Dr. Grover said. “No matter how intelligent they are, narcissists remain emotionally immature. Like children or teenagers, they find it difficult to put the needs of others before their own.”
Many celebrities, politicians, and successful business leaders often “meet the criteria for narcissistic personality disorder (NPD),” Dr. Grover said.
NPD is one of several types of personality disorders “in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships, and a lack of empathy for others,” according to Mayo Clinic.
In mid-March, spring breakers crowded Miami beaches. One of them famously told a reporter, “If I get corona, I get corona. At the end of the day, I’m not gonna let it stop me from partying,” according to a CBS News video.
He later apologized on an Instagram post, CBS News reported.
Defying social distancing may also be a form of denial, according to another psychologist.
“By virtue of not following all these prescriptions, it’s easy to believe that everything is normal and you’re going to be fine,” psychologist Regan Gurung told USA Today. “If you start practicing social distancing — which we really need to call physical distancing so people better understand the concept — it highlights the fact that, ‘Oh my gosh, this is a dangerous time.’ ”
In a since-deleted social media post, John McDaniel, 60, of Columbus, Ohio, said his state’s governor’s stay-at-home orders were “madness,” according to the New York Daily News.
One month later, he died, the outlet reported.
“If what I’m hearing is true, that (Ohio Gov. Mike) DeWine has ordered all bars and restaurants to be closed, I say (expletive)! He doesn’t have the authority,” McDaniel allegedly said in the social media post. “If you are paranoid and getting sick just don’t go out. It shouldn’t keep those of us from living our lives. The madness has to stop.”
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 6:25 PM with the headline "Why do some people refuse to social distance? Experts have a few ideas."
