Eight pitfalls of judgment to avoid during COVID-19

April 23, 2020

A new article published in the prestigious Lancet medical journal identifies eight behavioural pitfalls that people should avoid to ensure their safety during COVID-19.

“We know that hand washing, physical distancing, and home isolation are very effective for reducing the transmission of COVID-19; however, the huge challenge is in maintaining adherence,” says the lead author, Dr. Donald Redelmeier, a physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. “My co-investigator, Professor Eldar Shafir at Princeton University and I decided to review eight behavioural pitfalls reported by psychological science over the past century, which are relevant today to judgment under uncertainty. We suggest that awareness of these pitfalls might help people maintain the behavior change necessary to fight COVID-19.”

The eight pitfalls and their mitigation strategies:

  1. Fear of the unknown: Unknown risks attract more attention than regular events
    • Provide repeated reminders after the initial shock fades
  2. Embarrassment: Unintended lapses (e.g. touching face) add to self-blame
    • Acknowledge the fallibility and use celebrity patients to lessen stigma
  3. Neglect of competing risks: Prominent threats deflect attention from other risks
    • Do not overlook everyday hazards (e.g. road traffic risks)
  4. Invisible diseases: Problems might be missed when objective data are absent
    • Guard against mental health complications (e.g. reach out to others)
  5. Lack of feedback: Learning requires prompt follow-up unlike with a slow virus
    • Avoid scrutinizing rapidly fluctuating and unstable dashboard updates
  6. Status quo bias: Strong desire to resist change
    • Emphasize potential future gains from adapting to new circumstances
  7. Ingrained societal norms: Habits are difficult to change
    • Keep reminding and highlighting others who have shifted behaviours
  8. Hindsight bias: Summary judgements are unduly weighed by final outcomes
    • Avoid second guessing early attempts too harshly

“We all need to understand behavior and intuitive judgments during the current pandemic,” says Dr. Redelmeier. “An awareness of specific pitfalls can encourage people to stay vigilant and fight. Specific priorities continue to be physical distancing, staying home, avoiding crowds, hand hygiene, cleaning spaces, self-isolation, online socializing, and taking care of each other. To overcome this together, we need a good dose of self-awareness to maintain good preventive behaviour.”

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For media inquiries:
Laura Bristow, Communications Advisor, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
416-480-4040, laura.bristow@sunnybrook.ca