Is There a Normality Bias in the Spread of COVID-19? Influence of Cognition on Perception of COVID-19 and Related Behavior

Abstract

The present study examined whether a normality bias occurs in the context of the spread of COVID-19, and whether perceptions of COVID-19 are associated with behavior that is not self-restrained, anger at people who are infected with COVID-19, stress, and depression. Adults (N ＝ 710) in their twenties to sixties living in Tokyo were sampled using a questionnaire posted on the Internet. The results suggested that normality bias could be observed even in a long-term event such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of the results also suggested that aspects of the perception of COVID-19, including perceived infectiousness, perceived risk from the outside world, and perceived safety, affected different aspects of individuals' responses, based on aspects of a normality bias. In addition, the results suggested that awareness of methods of preventing infection with COVID-19 and self-restraint predicted behavior that was not self-restrained 2 months later. Future research should examine longer-term effects of normality bias and determinants of normality bias during the spread of COVID-19.