How evolutionary behavioural sciences can help us understand behaviour in a pandemic

Megan Arnot, Eva Brandl, Olk Campbell, Yuan Chen, Juan Du (), Mark Dyble, Emily Emmott, Erhao Ge, Luke Kretschmer, Ruth Mace, Alberto J. C. Micheletti, Sarah Nila, Sarah Peacey, Gul Deniz Salali and Hanzhi Zhang
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Alberto J. C. Micheletti: TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement

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Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought science into the public eye and to the attention of governments more than ever before. Much of this attention is on work in epidemiology, virology, and public health, with most behavioural advice in public health focussing squarely on ‘proximate' determinants of behaviour. While epidemiological models are powerful tools to predict the spread of disease when human behaviour is stable, most do not incorporate behavioural change. The evolutionary basis of our preferences and the cultural evolutionary dynamics of our beliefs drive behavioural change, so understanding these evolutionary processes can help inform individual and government decisionmaking in the face of a pandemic.

Keywords: Behavioural ecology; Cultural evolution; COVID-19; Lockdown; Social distancing; Behaviour change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-10
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Published in Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, 2020, eoaa038, pp.264-268. ⟨10.1093/emph/eoaa038⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03081477

DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoaa038

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