Depending on identification with vaccination status, both groups have a polarized perception of the past - dynamics vary by country
An international team of scientists from Germany, Austria and the USA show in the renowned scientific journal Nature how social polarization distorts the memory of the corona pandemic and thus makes it more difficult to prepare for future crises.
In several comprehensive studies, a research team from Bamberg, Chicago, Erfurt/Hamburg and Vienna investigated how perceptions and behaviors during the pandemic could shape future attitudes and how memories of feelings during the pandemic can be distorted by perceptions of the current situation. The study participants were surveyed in the first year of the pandemic, i.e. 2020, and then again at the turn of the year 2022/23. "In the second survey, they were also asked to recall their perceptions and behaviors in the first year of the pandemic. This allowed us to compare their memories with the answers they actually gave," explains one of the first authors, Philipp Sprengholz from the University of Bamberg.
Using several studies with over 10,000 respondents from a total of 10 countries, the researchers were able to determine the extent to which memories of their own past statements were dependent on current perceptions and behaviors. The scientists were particularly interested in how different attitudes influence the distortion of memories. To do this, they looked in particular at whether the respondents had been vaccinated or unvaccinated against coronavirus. The surprising result: depending on how much vaccinated or unvaccinated people identify with their vaccination status, the memories are distorted in different directions.
For example, vaccinated people overestimated their perceived risk of infection and their trust in science at the time, while unvaccinated people tended to underestimate both in retrospect. As the memories improved to some extent when the respondents received money for particularly accurate memories, the scientists conclude that the memory distortions are at least partially motivated and cannot be explained by mere forgetting alone.
Desire to dismantle the political system
Furthermore, the study results showed that with a greater underestimation of risk perceptions, protective behavior and trust in government and science at the time, political measures were perceived as less appropriate in retrospect. According to the study, more negative assessments of political measures during the pandemic are also associated with a stronger desire to punish politicians and scientists for their actions during the pandemic and to dismantle the entire political order. Unsurprisingly, these respondents also stated that they do not intend to follow regulations in future pandemics. Overall, these intentions varied from country to country (see figure).
Distorted memories make it difficult to prepare for future crises
"The results show that there are systematic differences in how people remember the pandemic, even though their perceptions at the time often did not differ that much," says the second lead author Luca Henkel from the University of Chicago, summarizing the results. The distorted memory leads to a polarized perception of the past, which has the potential to perpetuate current and future social polarization and hinder preparation for future crises. Cornelia Betsch from the University of Erfurt and the Bernhard Nocht Institute Hamburg adds: "In the future, we must look beyond the short-term effects of political measures to contain pandemics and also consider long-term consequences for social cohesion".
Further studies will now investigate how the distortion of memories and social polarization influence each other over time and how these dynamics vary in different countries. Other crises, such as the climate crisis, will also be examined. "We also want to explore ways to reduce polarization. It may be possible to reduce the identification of vaccinated and unvaccinated people with their vaccination status. This could reduce the motivation to distort memories in the first place and thus improve the process of coming to terms with the pandemic," adds psychologist Robert Böhm from the University of Vienna.
Also: Further study on the consequences of pandemic fatigue
In another study published in Nature Communications, an international team of scientists including psychologist Robert Böhm from the University of Vienna investigated the phenomenon of pandemic fatigue. According to the psychologists, this pandemic fatigue is an information and behavioral fatigue that also changes over time. The scientists ultimately came to the conclusion that pandemics exhaust people so much over time that they are less likely to follow the authorities’ health protection recommendations.
Original publications:
Historical narratives about the COVID-19 pandemic are motivationally biased
DOI: 10.1038/s41586’023 -06674-5 (online from 17.00)
Development and validation of the pandemic fatigue scale. Nat Commun 14, 6352 (2023).
DOI: 10.1038/s41467’023 -42063-2
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