The pandemic exposes human nature: 10 evolutionary insights

Abstract

Humans and viruses have been coevolving for millennia. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19) has been particularly successful in evading our evolved defenses. The outcome has been tragic—across the globe, millions have been sickened and hundreds of thousands have died. Moreover, the quarantine has radically changed the structure of our lives, with devastating social and economic consequences that are likely to unfold for years. An evolutionary perspective can help us understand the progression and consequences of the pandemic. Here, a diverse group of scientists, with expertise from evolutionary medicine to cultural evolution, provide insights about the pandemic and its aftermath. At the most granular level, we consider how viruses might affect social behavior, and how quarantine, ironically, could make us susceptible to other maladies, due to a lack of microbial exposure. At the psychological level, we describe the ways in which the pandemic can affect mating behavior, cooperation (or the lack thereof), and gender norms, and how we can use disgust to better activate native “behavioral immunity” to combat disease spread. At the cultural level, we describe shifting cultural norms and how we might harness them to better combat disease and the negative social consequences of the pandemic. These insights can be used to craft solutions to problems produced by the pandemic and to lay the groundwork for a scientific agenda to capture and understand what has become, in effect, a worldwide social experiment.

What Role Does Pathogen-Avoidance Psychology Play in Pandemics?

“…As of November, 2020 (9 months into the COVID-19 pandemic), approximately 30 published papers and preprints have applied behavioral immune logic to studies of COVID-19 (e.g., [ 5 , 7 , 32. , 33. , 34.…”

COVID-19 Pandemic on Fire: Evolved Propensities for Nocturnal Activities as a Liability Against Epidemiological Control

“…Most of the abovementioned situational factorsthat is, knowledge about the disease and the quarantine, social norms, perceived benefits of quarantine and risks of the disease, lack of supplies, and unemployment-are associated with (non)adherence to quarantine during infectious disease outbreaks (Webster et al, 2020). Moreover, societal norms (loose vs. tight) may also contribute to the varying reactions of world nations in limiting COVID-19 cases and deaths (Seitz et al, 2020;Gelfand et al, 2021). Hence, males, young individuals, those pursuing a fast life history strategy, and evening-oriented individuals are not the only non-compliant type(s); because of situational reasons, many more individuals also end up defying the contagion-mitigating measures.…”

“…Evolutionary approaches to human behavior have the potential of uncovering hidden patterns and deep roots of many seemingly disparate findings (DeBruine, 2009;Gentle and Goetz, 2010;Stephen et al, 2014;Buss, 2020). And the context of pandemics, particularly the current COVID-19 context, is no different (Arnot et al, 2020;Dezecache et al, 2020;Seitz et al, 2020;Troisi, 2020;Luoto and Varella, 2021). Besides the evolved tendencies to respond to cues of diseases avoiding contagion (i.e., behavioral immune system; Shook et al, 2020;Stevenson et al, 2021), and to deal with pathogens (i.e., immune system; Krams et al, 2020), there are many other evolutionary factors that play a role in a pandemic situation (Arnot et al, 2020;Seitz et al, 2020).…”

“…And the context of pandemics, particularly the current COVID-19 context, is no different (Arnot et al, 2020;Dezecache et al, 2020;Seitz et al, 2020;Troisi, 2020;Luoto and Varella, 2021). Besides the evolved tendencies to respond to cues of diseases avoiding contagion (i.e., behavioral immune system; Shook et al, 2020;Stevenson et al, 2021), and to deal with pathogens (i.e., immune system; Krams et al, 2020), there are many other evolutionary factors that play a role in a pandemic situation (Arnot et al, 2020;Seitz et al, 2020). For instance, the evolved sex differences in psychological tendencies might help to explain why women are more careful and comply with safety measures more than men, and importantly why female leaders are more successful in minimizing deaths in a pandemic context than male leaders (Luoto and Varella, 2021).…”

COVID-19 related misconceptions among older adults in Bangladesh: findings from a cross-sectional study

“…As of the 24 th of January 2021, more than 96 million people have been infected, and more than two million people have lost their lives 2 . Furthermore, this unprecedented pandemic has substantially changed the way we live across the globe, with deleterious societal and financial outcomes likely to take many years to return to normal 3 . The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affected each part of the world, leaving no country untouched 4 .…”