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Kudos to @jayvanbavel & colleagues for this paper filled with pandemic-relevant behavioral science, much of it already being digested in the media. The @affectivescilab, which I co-direct, would like to offer a friendly amendment. /1 https://twitter.com/jayvanbavel/status/1242458576192524293">https://twitter.com/jayvanbav...
Media reporting on Covid-19 has had a blind spot for psychosocial research on what happens AFTER exposure to a virus, ie. who& #39;s more likely to develop symptoms. Various research shows that PSYCHOLOGICAL factors get under the skin to influence the biological reality of disease. /2
For example, psychologist Sheldon Cohen & colleagues placed viruses into the noses of healthy adults and observed who developed respiratory infections. (One was a coronavirus linked to a common cold.) Only 1/3 of subjects developed symptoms, on average. /3 https://www.cmu.edu/common-cold-project/">https://www.cmu.edu/common-co...
In other words, a virus is necessary but not sufficient for illness. Factors like chronic stress, low socioeconomic status, social isolation, negative affect, & childhood adversity increase the likelihood of illness after exposure. /4
Conversely, resilience to illness is associated with social connectedness, social support, positive affect, and a high quality relationship with parents in childhood. Such findings suggest that psychological interventions can have biological impacts. /5
Of course, stress reduction & other psychological caretaking should not replace handwashing, physical distancing, etc. But it may be biologically justified to reduce stress, loneliness, & negative affect, while increasing a feeling of social belonging & positive affect. /6
We don’t yet know if these sorts of findings apply to Covid-19 or generalize to a pandemic. But they provide a solid foundation for hypotheses to test. By ignoring this research, we miss a golden opportunity to make game-changing and potentially life-saving discoveries. /7
As more people lose their jobs, this research becomes even more relevant. It also helps to explain (& could have been used to predict) recent evidence that Covid-19 exposure is more lethal for people who experience social & economic disadvantage. /8 https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/07/coronavirus-is-infecting-killing-black-americans-an-alarmingly-high-rate-post-analysis-shows/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/20...
What you think & feel, & how you experience the world, translates into vulnerabilities for illness. Research that acknowledges these links could prove vital to epidemiologists, virologists, & other biologists on the front lines of dealing with this pandemic. /9
As research continues to dissolve the illusory boundaries between the mental and the physical, psychological scientists have an opportunity to remedy the media& #39;s current blind spot and create opportunities for discovery that could ultimately save lives. /10
