What are we thinking?

Psychologist Jeff Bond talks to the Advertiser about what influences our behaviour in the current pandemic.

Since the Coronavirus pandemic was declared earlier this year, life for Victorians has changed dramatically. Bass Coast has endured two lockdowns and the current Stage 3 restrictions are set to last until the middle of September.

Aside from the health impacts, it’s had a profound effect on people’s mental health and psychological well-being.

In Bass Coast, both lockdown announcements saw many in the community raise concerns about the influx of visitors and people who appeared to have disregarded the instruction to stay in their Melbourne homes.

This had led to reports of confrontations on the street and many hostile exchanges on social media.

Hoax and conspiracy theories have also flourished, while some people continue to deliberately flout the restrictions put in place to protect the community.

So what is influencing the way people behave? Are people not following the directives of the Chief Health Officer because the messages are confusing?

Cowes resident Jeff Bond has had a long career as a psychologist and said he is frustrated, but not surprised by the reaction.

“For some, there is a bit of confusion, because the rules vary, but I don’t think anyone can claim ignorance. No one can say ‘I didn’t know’.”

But he said people will interpret a rule to suit their own current view and what they want to happen.

“At a fundamental level, we humans are all selfish. We see and hear what we want to, to support our own positions.”

Jeff believes “unconscious bias” – looking for an outcome that supports the position you hold – is a big factor in the way people are reacting to the pandemic.

“If you have thoughts or a mindset that you believe in, you will look for confirmation of that.”

He said safety concerns are also a major factor.

“I understand why people want to get away from Stage 4 lockdown, so they come here. They want to look after themselves, then their family. Their priorities come first. It’s a survival thing in a way.”

For other people, a deep mistrust of authority figures drives them to ignore the regulations.

“These people deliberately make the decision to find a loophole,” Jeff said.

“Australia has a history of anti-authoritarianism which still pervades our culture. We call it larrikinism. People saying, ‘we will make up our own minds’, and we’re seeing plenty of that.”

For a society that overall has experienced a high standard of living and a lot of freedom, the restrictions of the pandemic are hard for some to adapt to, said Jeff.

One example is the “sovereign citizen movement”, including refusing to wear a mask.

“This doesn’t pass any reasonable test. To say wearing a mask is an infringement of human rights is a joke,” said Jeff.

“These people are saying: I will do what I want to do and I don’t want anyone to tell me otherwise. It’s dangerous and if we all did it, we’d be in anarchy.”

Local concerns

Jeff said he’s concerned by the number of people he sees in the community without a mask, and who are continuing to visit their friends. While it might be difficult, he believes it is important to talk to friends, neighbours and family if they aren’t following the restrictions.

“I think it’s okay to say to someone, do you realise what you are doing is placing me at risk, or other people around me? Do you understand the rules around wearing masks?

"It can be difficult when you live in a neighbourhood and you don’t want to upset them. If it’s someone you know – you have to weigh up the balance of preserving the relationship or the safety issue. In these circumstances, I’d say safety is the priority.”

Despite all the government information and medical research, Jeff said there are “doubters out there who still don’t believe this is real”.

“It doesn’t matter how much training I’ve got, there are some things I can’t explain,” he said.

“But there is a role for people to step in and do it in a reasonable way. Talk about it, ask a question – do you really understand how serious this is?”

He said young people were more likely to flout the rules, in part because of “maturation of cognitive processes”, which means they don’t necessarily understand the consequences.

“They think they’re invincible. They do need to be reminded. But young people aren’t the only ones, older people are doing the same thing. Our brains do continue to mature over time in a way that gives us a better perspective. People with life-experience under their belt ought to be able to make reasonable decisions.”

With local police reporting a large increase in calls to the Police Assistance Line (131 444), are we becoming a nation of dobbers?

“I think dobber is a derogatory term, which originally implied some sort of personal gain from reporting someone,” Jeff said.

“What we’re being asked to do now is reporting. Here in a life and death situation, in some cases it makes sense to notify an authority. It’s happening, it’s dangerous. That’s not dobbing in the true sense of the word.

“Too many people are dying unnecessarily and it’s wrong.”