Toilet paper is hard to find during the coronavirus pandemic. What's going on?
calls “the spread of behaviors, attitudes, and affect through crowds and other types of social aggregates from one member to another.”
“Social contagion is a necessary part of survival, and feeling threatened triggers our primitive instincts,” she explains. “Seeing people stock up on toilet paper changes the perception of how necessary it is. When you mimic that behavior, you experience a psychological reward that you’ve done something right.”
A lack of control during distressed times may cause people to hold tightly to the familiar. “Using toilet paper is meeting one’s basic needs — babies need wipes and toilet paper is a household staple,” she says.And the pandemic might have placed a higher value on toilet paper due to media images. “You see people on television with large packages of toilet paper sticking out of their grocery carts,” says Marshall.
And though hoarding toilet paper could feel satisfying in the face of uncertainty, it’s not effective. “Buying all the toilet paper won’t stop the virus from infecting and you might be taking resources from others,” she tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “It’s not that people get selfish during emergencies, but they look inward when motivated by fear — it’s distressing to see cleaned-out store aisles.”
Wright says if the coronavirus has offered any future lessons thus far, it’s to prepare reasonably for emergencies. “However, if we go overboard, it’s not helpful psychologically.”
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