During the COVID-19 pandemic, the consumer’s behavior regarding the seeking of protective equipment and testing has shown two distinct choices of people – some look for masks and tests, while others avoid these. One study that can help explain this is by Kusev et al. (2017), who examine the different “contextual, emotional, and hormonal factors on preferences for risk” in an individual’s behavior (p. 102). The first conclusion one can make from this study is that there are many factors that may influence one’s decision to behave in a risky or not risky way. For example, the information about COVID-19, people’s experience, the emotions of discomfort, fears, and their inborn tolerance for risk can affect the decision of seeking testing and masks or not. Kusev et al. (2017) note that the majority of modern research into the behavior of people is based on the utilitarian approach, where consumers make decisions based on society’s norms of behavior or specific expectations. This approach fails to account for a variety of other factors, not only psychological but also physical, for instance, hormones or risk tolerance, that also have an impact on a person’s decision.
The pandemic has shown that some choose to engage in behavior that can be viewed as risky or even dangerous in the current times, for example, by going to restaurants. On the opposite side, others stay at home, cook, or order take-out. This can also be explained by findings of the study by Kushev et al. (2017)- some people are affected by genetic and contextual factors that prompt them to act in a way that can subject them to being infected with COVID-19.
Reference
Kusev, P., Purser, H., Heilman, R., Cooke, A. J., Van Schaik, P., Baranova, V., Martin, R., & Ayton, P. (2017). Understanding risky behavior: The influence of cognitive, emotional and hormonal factors on decision-making under risk. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 102. Web.