We may have been too optimistic over our risk of Covid infection

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-11-10 11:01

International

Researchers looked into how people understood Covid-19 risk in the UK, USA, and Germany during the early stages of the pandemic, as perceived risk can affect whether people comply with health measures like physical distancing. They uncovered a widespread ‘optimism bias’ - where people believed they were personally less likely to become infected or spread the virus to others; the strongest bias was for the risk of infecting others. The team reports that these biases did not change over time.

Media release

From: The Royal Society

Slowing the spread of COVID-19 requires following protective practices (e.g. physical distancing and disinfecting hands). Perceptions about the personal risk of COVID-19 may affect compliance with these practices. We assessed risk perception about COVID-19 in the UK, USA, and in Germany early in the pandemic (March 2020 - May 2020). People showed a comparative optimism bias about getting infected and infecting others, but not for getting severe symptoms. These biases did not change over time and seemed to relate to perceived level of control over the action. Overall, risk perception was linked to publicly available information about the disorder.

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Journal/
conference: Royal Society Open Science

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany; Heidelberg University, Germany; University of California, US; George Washington University, US

Funder: N/A

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