Research on Human behavior when threatened by Pandemic

1. Personality Traits
Linked To
Stockpiling Toilet
Paper
The reason people stockpiled toilet paper in the pandemic.
Conscientious and emotional people were the most likely to stockpile toilet paper in
March 2020, a new study finds.
Despite calls from governments around the world to avoid panic buying, sales of
toilet paper went up 700 percent in response to the pandemic.
But why toilet paper?
Apparently, people feel safer with more toilet paper in the house.

2. The study’s authors write:
“…people experiencean increased sensitivityto disgustin times of
a spreading disease and toiletpaperis hypothesizedto serve as a
symbol ofsafety alleviating the perceived threat.
Consequently,stockpiling toiletpaperduring the Covid-19
pandemicshould be observed primarily amongthose who feel
particularly threatened by the virus.”
The study included 966 people in 22 countries who were given personality tests and
asked about their toilet paper consumption in recent weeks.
The results showed that people who felt most threatened by the pandemic were
more likely to stockpile toilet paper.
High emotionality — often known as neuroticism — was the personality trait that
most strongly predicted toilet paper stockpiling.
Emotional people are those who tend to worry and feel more anxious.
The other personality trait linked to stockpiling toilet paper was conscientiousness.
People who are conscientious tend to be perfectionist, hard workers who prefer
planning ahead.
The study also found that older people and Americans were more prone to
stockpiling than the young and European.
Although stockpiling has been labelled selfish, the threat that people faced has a
strong effect, the authors write:
“Althoughstockpilingas a resultof perceived threatmightbe
considered selfishby some,it is importantto note that it would not
necessarily reflecta dispositionallack ofprosociality.
Instead, even the mosthumbleand moral individualsmight
stockpiletoiletpaperas long as they feel sufficientlythreatened by
the pandemic.”