The condition is pertinent to mental or psychological discomfort, in which mental confinement or conflict changes an individual’s attitude in reaction to the established discomfort (Metzger, Hartsell & Flanagin, 2020). When these reactions manifest in the individual’s actions, they are usually responsive to the psychological tension that the individual attempts to restore their sense of normality or comfort. The psychological conflicts determined through observation, medical and other assessment parameters are causative factors and implications on individuals worldwide’ social, environmental, and economic welfare. Cognitive dissonance has been determined currently in different population settings the world over following the identification of the fatal pandemic disease, COVID-19 (Wang et al., 2020). Similar reactions are professionally seen in individuals at different levels, including household, community, regional, nation-wide, international, and global. Several other factors arose to recognition in the spread of information through media (broadcasting stations and the internet), including tribalism and racism, mistrust, blame, and political divisions. The world’s governments have formulated similar strategies to cope with the current pandemic, involving controlled movement within the states, internationally, and across continents (Kim, Choi & Tanford, 2020). Some of the causative aspects of the critical psychological reactions determined in the world’s population include controlled movements, negative economic decline, political ideologies, media use, and family feuds.
Controlled Movements
Government authorities from across the globe established controlled movements within states and internationally as one of the major strategies formulated to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy was identified as one that would slow the viral disease prevalence rate, as scientists were conducting research programs and plans to develop a preventive measure and cure for the infamous pandemic (Choi, 2020). As the authoritative move was deemed effective, it was also recognized that its effects were seriously implicative on the world’s communities. It was determined that people working abroad or away from their families could not travel back to their families, and individuals were undertaking studies from outside their mother countries. This, in turn, created ethnic or racial divisions, and as a result, the foreigners were mistreated by the nationals and were pressured to make immediate evacuations. On the other hand, major transport business organizations began to deteriorate, and major international hotel resorts also economically declined.
Negative Economic Decline
The global restriction on transport affected economic decline. In addition to great entrepreneurship downfalls, the loss of jobs for up to 60 per cent of workers in the world’s population. Most governments’ chances of survival began to diminish, with negligible incidents of intervention programs or strategies by most governments worldwide (Flanagin, 2020). In most cities and towns around the globe, there has been total desertion, in the sense that virtually no activities were being conducted, or rather operations such as physical money and good or service exchange between traders and consumers. This is due to the alleged guidelines communicated to citizens by state authorities through the media. With all the accorded kind of living strategies set by all governments, most communities fell in line and attempted to adapt to the new lifestyle, although social, environmental, and economic pressure was drastically building up over the months (Hartsell, 2020).
Political Differences in Ideologies
Political disputes between government authorities and citizens across the globe have been rapidly on the rise. The trending disputes are exhibited chiefly in the most populated states and third-world countries with most of the unemployed community members and/or with most of whom are poor and have low-income livelihoods. Cases of civil wars, mass demonstrations have been consistent, especially in the eastern part of Europe and Asian countries, with allegations of authorities passing distorted information on the prevalence and fatality of covid-19. For instance, Chinese nationals claim that there has been an authoritarian tendency of doctoring the spread and mortality rate of COVID-19 in the region, in the position of suspecting the government officials of political and economic manipulations and self-interest (Zhang et al., 2020). Several sources affirm the negative implications of the spread of COVID-19 on most communities’ mental welfare, majorly in China, associated with isolation and community rejections by authorities in quarantines (Xin et al., 2020).
Media Use
The unpredictability of the current pandemic rate or prevalence has majorly contributed to the unstable and poor mental health status of most individuals, who point fingers at the media as one manipulated by authorities to pass the rather disturbing information. The psychological adjustment of these individuals to the current living guidelines passed to them through the media by the authorities has been a difficult process. The world’s communities state that government officials use media to instil fear or panic by passing these breath-taking messages. According to most research findings, most community members claim some government officials have created propaganda to control the world’s economy through media information, hence the term info epidemic. These media messages have allegedly created a mass negative attitude among the world community members. Based on scientific studies, the Chinese academy holds that most community members have developed negative or ill emotional perspectives towards health reports, a psychological known as the Behavioral Immune Syndrome (BIS) (Song, 2020). The manner of information perception by the world’s community can be comprehensive through the following theoretical framework through media.
Family/ Household Feuds
Psychosocial reactions concerning COVID-19 were being clinically assessed at the household level, where several Chinese subjects were found with the alleged disorder of BIS. BIS is a collection of mental dysfunctions, such as excessive anxiety, anger, poor judgment and denial, that the mind develops as social strategies to help alleviate social pressure and, therefore, conform to the current social lifestyle brought about by the current pandemic (Wen,2020). These conditions would adversely affect people with families and adolescent youths due to economic pressure and confinement. The pandemic’s spread has reportedly tampered with relationships between individuals and resulted in domestic violence, divorce, loss of jobs, imprisonment, and even deaths in communities the world over.
Cognitive Dissonance Theories and COVID-19
Some theories were developed over the years of pandemic outbreaks by social scientists and psychologists, majorly in the developed countries, such as the US and China. The theories were pertinent to the research study reports provided following some critical scientific investigations on the psychosocial status of individuals in the events of the past (influenza and Ebola) and the current pandemic times (COVID-19) (Izuma et al., 2019). These theories were formulated from studies involving individual, household, and community-level subjects, using factors in controlling the spread of the pandemic diseases. These parameters were staying home, maintaining proper hygienic conditions, maintaining physical distance among individuals, and restricting movements. Some studies included the critical use of indicators that included;
- Indirect measurements
- Personalized attitude-changing treatments
Indirect Measurements and Personalized Attitude Changing Treatments (IMPACT)
The United States government and other authorities incorporated health practitioners and media in assessing people’s attitudes or perspectives from different walks of life towards the historical pandemic strikes and the level of safety among them (Li et al., 2020). The exercise involved using social media such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. These mobile applications provided links in which people would log in and share responsive information, indicating the level of adherence and awareness of these pandemics. Studies confirm that approximately 20 per cent of mobile users worldwide were consistently responsive to the links, including positive and negative views implicated in the pandemic situation (Ma et al., 2020). The critical assessment was conducted alongside the other clinical research assessments mentioned earlier. The following theories were ultimately dependable in future research because of their substantiality and meaningfulness in the pandemic.
The Yale Attitude Change Theory
This theory suggests that the quality of the medium used for passing the attitude-changing message will determine the respondent’s behavioural change. It emphasises the essence of proper communication with the respondents, making the communication media the main reason the respondent will become considerable and reflective towards the message (Harmon-Jones, 2019).
Loss Aversion Theory
It affirms that the media will use the strategy of communicating the pandemic prevalence and fatality and accounting for the rate of morbidity and mortality rather than the number of survivors or the number of people in good health status.
The Elaboration Likelihood Approach
The approach is consistent with the respondents’ frequency of going through the message and how frequently they reply. The media persuaded the respondents to read through and answer the questions offered concerning the pandemic situation. This approach is prospective and states that the frequency of responding is the key to attitude change.
Advice Taking Approach
The approach is seemingly the most effective method of attitude change. The communication message is centred emphatically on the pandemic disease and its implications on the affected person. Studies state that the attitude change is increasingly recorded at least 20 percent after being applied to the respondents (Dong et al., 2020).
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
In this model, the respondents can freely express their views concerning the pandemic situation. After that, they provide at least two meaningful strategies on what to apply to ultimately provide a solution to their plight (Murayama, 2019). Consequently, the respondents are equally obliged to accord their behavioural change process to the desirable recommendations they have provided.
Behavioral Immune Syndrome Theory
This model was applied by the National Health Commission in China in January this year to assess the status of psychological health in connection to the current pandemic (Li, 2020). This assessment was deemed effective on the subjects as they could express their ideas on what they think the disease is, what strategies they could apply to ensure its controlled spread and other pertaining strategies. The exercise was more of a direct examination as the media was uninvolved. Using the Weibo users’ data in reaching out to the subjects, the government authorities and the involved health practitioners applied proper strategies leading to a remarkable and massive behavioral change on the subjects (Xue, 2020). According to the NHC study reports, the level of psychological discomfort noted during the implementation of this approach was ultimately alleviated increasingly by at least 20 per cent.
Psychological immunization is another of the theories used to determine the subjects’ psychosocial status, among others.
Effects of Cognitive Dissonance
As mentioned earlier in the topic, cognitive dissonance causes mental instability due to anxiety, lack of freedom or mental confinement, and undesirable emotional reactions, among other psychosocial illnesses. These factors occur due to the need of the affected individual to restore mental comfort or attempt to conform to the state authorities’ unbreakable regulations regarding the control of a pandemic disease (Chen, 2020). The above psychosocial elements affect a deterioration in the affected individuals’ behavioural mannerisms, with very unpleasant consequences. The consequences mentioned above include –
- Depression
- Family breakups
- Loss of jobs
- Drugs and substance addictions
- Imprisonment
Depression
Depression is majorly one of the consequences of uncontrolled cognitive dissonance in some individuals. The affected individual’s mental status progresses due to the negligence of those surrounding them. This comes following the effects inclusive of anxiety, mismanagement of anger or temperaments, negative emotional thinking and reactions and the inability to solve small mistakes. Mental confinement aggravates anger, and the sense of negative perception sets in, which are the contributing catalysts to the mental breakdown (Zhao et al., 2020).
Family Break-Ups
Due to the long-term house confinement and lack of outdoor activities caused by the pandemic, some family members have begun to have household conflicts, as proven through the media broadcasting houses worldwide. These conflicts result in domestic violence and divorce.
Loss of Jobs
Most public and private servants have been sacked from jobs due to increased unproductivity and incompetence due to organizations’ probable salary delays. The workers, who collectively take to demonstrations due to their unmet grievances at workplaces, are the most probable victims of job loss.
Drug and Substance Addiction
This is a significant consequence evident in the media channels. Levels of unemployment are increasing, and most people, including the youth, turn to drugs due to idleness and life frustrations brought about by the pandemic disease. This, in turn, encourages high poverty levels in communities, an increase in population resulting in overcrowding, and ultimately increased levels of insecurity.
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is a corrective strategy all governmental structures apply to restore order in communities. Most individuals, especially the ones with mental pressure, find themselves serving prison times due to evident crimes they commit in the quest to solve personal or family based issues.
Recommendations
These critical psychosocial considerations help restore positivity in the affected individuals as part of society. With help from the authorities, strategies can be planned and implemented. Implementation involves proper communication of impending pandemic disease outbreaks and assisting communities in preparing to deal with the situation. Establishing quarantines and isolation areas should be positively taken with the obligation of the governmental authorities’ positive encouragement (Yao et al., 2020). The government should also identify strategies to ensure proper access and equal distribution of basic human needs or resources for their citizens, especially in times of pandemic crisis.
Cognitive dissonance is a major psychological disorder that causes mental disturbances and instability, leading to improper physical functionalities and unproductivity. Concerning the historical pandemic strikes around the globe, cognitive dissonance has notably manifested in most individuals due to the need for conformity to lifestyle changes due to the newly established guidelines formulated to control the spread of the pandemic diseases (Yang et al., 2020). The government officials, health practitioners, the media sources, and the community have worked hand in hand to curb the disease prevalence by ensuring cooperation among themselves. Strategies formulated by government officials and recommendations from health workers and scientists have been applied by establishing quarantines, advice to stay indoors, maintenance of personal and general hygiene and proper communication pertinent to the pandemic outbreak, leading to a successful pandemic combating implementation strategy. Consequently, most individuals affected by psychological disorders have been recognized and have received help from positive community members, working together with researchers and the government worldwide, hence the restoration of positive mindsets and functionality among them.
References
De Vos, J., & Singleton, P. A. (2020). Travel and cognitive dissonance. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 138, 525-536.
Dong, W., Tao, J., Xia, X., Ye, L., Xu, H., Jiang, P., & Liu, Y. (2020). Public Emotions and Rumors Spread During the COVID-19 Epidemic in China: Web-Based Correlation Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(11), e21933.
Harmon-Jones, E. E. (2019). Cognitive dissonance: Reexamining a pivotal theory in psychology (pp. xvi-303). American Psychological Association.
Izuma, K., & Murayama, K. (2019). Neural basis of cognitive dissonance.
Kim, E. J., Choi, C., & Tanford, S. (2020). Influence of scarcity on travel decisions and cognitive dissonance. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 1-15.
Li, S., Wang, Y., Xue, J., Zhao, N., & Zhu, T. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 epidemic declaration on psychological consequences: a study on active Weibo users. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(6), 2032.
Li, X., Lv, S., Liu, L., Chen, R., Chen, J., Liang, S., & Zhao, J. (2020). COVID-19 in Guangdong: Immediate Perceptions and Psychological Impact on 304,167 College Students. Frontiers in Psychology, 11.
Metzger, M. J., Hartsell, E. H., & Flanagin, A. J. (2020). Cognitive dissonance or credibility? A comparison of two theoretical explanations for selective exposure to partisan news. Communication Research, 47(1), 3-28.
Song, S., Yao, X., & Wen, N. (2020). What motivates Chinese consumers to avoid information about the COVID-19 pandemic?: The perspective of the stimulus-organism-response model. Information Processing & Management, 58(1), 102407.
Yang, X. Y., Peng, S., Yang, T., Zhang, W., & Wang, H. (2020). Uncertainty stress, and its impact on disease fear and prevention behaviours during the COVID-19 epidemic in China: A panel study. medRxiv.
Zhang, L., Ma, M., Li, D., & Xin, Z. (2020). The psychological typhoon eye effect during the COVID-19 outbreak in China: the role of coping efficacy and perceived threat. Globalization and Health, 16(1), 1-10.
