The COVID-19 outbreak has brought much of the world to a standstill and hammered the world economy. But it strikes me that most people's emotional reactions to the virus have been remarkably muted. While panic buying has certainly been a problem, popular panic over the disease itself seems rare.
So why isn't COVID-19 scarier? I'd like to propose that the reason lies in the symptoms — or, rather, the symptoms COVID-19 lacks.
There has been quite a bit of research on the psychology of disease avoidance. The theory is that humans evolved a "behavioral immune system" to help us avoid being infected by pathogens by making us want to avoid signs of infection.
A consistent finding is that we are primed to be disgusted both by skin abnormalities (spots and rashes especially), and by bodily fluids — both of which can spread contagion.
Facial expression of disgust. (Credit: Ekman 1976)
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