Economic bifurcations in pandemic leadership: Power in abundance or agency amid scarcity?

Social psychological scholarship has emphasized the importance of effective leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the wider material contexts of these dynamics have often remained understudied. Through a critical discursive lens, this paper investigates differences in the social constructions used by leaders of richer and poorer nations during the COVID-19 pandemic. We identify a sharp economic bifurcation in global discourses of pandemic leadership. Pandemic leadership in wealthier nations exercises power in abundance by mobilizing institutions and inspiring communities through discursive frames of coordination and collaboration. Conversely, pandemic leadership in poorer settings negotiates agency amid scarcity by tactically balancing resources, freedoms and dignity within discursive frames of restriction and recuperation. Implications of these findings are unpacked for understanding leadership especially during an international crisis, highlighting the need for critical sensitivities to wider societal structures for a genuinely global social psychology.

Covid-19 impacts on group sports activities and social psychology / Impactos da covid-19 nas atividades esportivas de grupo e na psicologia social / Impactos del covid-19 en las actividades deportivas de grupo y en la psicología social

ABSTRACT Introduction: Sports play an important role in maintaining community health, positively impacting the immune system. Behind the scenes of COVID-19 prevention, the value of exercise has been recognized in both individual and collective health needs. Yet, a current scenario of its use and psychosocial impact has to be documented. Objective: Study the impact of COVID-19 disease on group sports activities and explore residents' social and psychological aspects. Methods: This paper adopts the online survey method by distributing relevant questionnaires to urban residents analyzing the current frequency of group sports activities, individual hobbies, and group sports activities, their distribution areas, organization, and the impacts generated by the pandemic. Results: The surveyed subjects in the study area have good physical activity habits. Male residents prefer ball games, and female residents prefer activities that explore relaxation and communication. Group sports activities have more followers. Conclusion: Despite the good habits verified in the majority of the population, it is necessary to improve outdoor facilities and indoor sports training places and establish a good system for disseminating information about the social-psychological service. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment outcomes.

RESUMO Introdução: Os esportes desempenham um papel importante na manutenção da saúde comunitária, com impactos positivos no sistema imunológico. Nos bastidores da prevenção da COVID-19, o valor do exercício foi reconhecido tanto nas necessidades individuais quanto coletivas de saúde, porém um cenário atual de sua utilização e seu impacto psicossocial ainda não foram documentados. Objetivo: Estudar o impacto da doença COVID-19 nas atividades esportivas em grupo e explorar os aspectos sociais e psicológicos dos moradores. Métodos: Este artigo adota o método de survey online, distribuindo questionários relevantes aos moradores urbanos analisando a frequência atual das atividades esportivas em grupo, os hobbies individuais e as atividades esportivas em grupo, bem como suas áreas de distribuição, organização e os impactos gerados pela pandemia. Resultados: Os sujeitos pesquisados na área de estudo possuem bons hábitos de atividade física. Os residentes do sexo masculino tendem a preferir jogos de bola enquanto as mulheres preferem atividades que exploram o relaxamento e a comunicação. As atividades esportivas em grupo possuem mais adeptos. Conclusão: Apesar dos bons hábitos verificados na maioria da população, faz-se necessária a necessidade de aprimorar as instalações ao ar livre e nos locais de treino esportivo interno, além de estabelecer um bom sistema de divulgação nas informações sobre o serviço psicológico social. Nível de evidência II; Estudos terapêuticos - investigação dos resultados do tratamento.

RESUMEN Introducción: El deporte desempeña un papel importante en el mantenimiento de la salud de la comunidad, con impactos positivos en el sistema inmunológico. Entre los antecedentes de la prevención del COVID-19, se ha reconocido el valor del ejercicio en las necesidades de salud tanto individuales como colectivas, sin embargo aún no se ha documentado un escenario actual de su uso y su impacto psicosocial. Objetivo: Estudiar el impacto de la enfermedad COVID-19 en las actividades deportivas de grupo y explorar los aspectos sociales y psicológicos de los residentes. Métodos: Este trabajo adopta el método de encuesta en línea mediante la distribución de cuestionarios pertinentes a los residentes urbanos que analizan la frecuencia actual de las actividades deportivas en grupo, las aficiones individuales y las actividades deportivas en grupo, así como sus áreas de distribución, la organización y los impactos generados por la pandemia. Resultados: Los sujetos encuestados en el área de estudio tienen buenos hábitos de actividad física. Los residentes masculinos tienden a preferir los juegos de pelota, mientras que las mujeres prefieren actividades que exploren la relajación y la comunicación. Las actividades deportivas en grupo tienen más seguidores. Conclusión: A pesar de los buenos hábitos constatados en la mayoría de la población, es necesario mejorar las instalaciones exteriores y los lugares de entrenamiento deportivo interior, además de establecer un buen sistema de difusión en la información sobre el servicio psicológico social. Nivel de evidencia II; Estudios terapéuticos - investigación de los resultados del tratamiento.

Immunities of the Herd in Peace, War, and COVID-19.

Intermittently, the concept of herd immunity has been a potent, if sometimes ambiguous and controversial, means of framing the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and envisaging its end. Realizing the full meaning of human herd immunity requires further attention to its connections after World War I with British social theory. Distracted by "obvious" yet unsubstantiated correspondences with veterinary research, historians of the concept have not engaged with the more proximate influence of discussions of social psychology and group dynamics on postwar epidemiology. Understanding the openness of early 20th century epidemiology to social thought deepens our appreciation of the significance of herd or population immunity, as well as suggests new avenues for exchange between public health and contemporary social sciences. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(10):1465-1470. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306931).

The ephemeral effects of fact-checks on COVID-19 misperceptions in the United States, Great Britain and Canada.

Widespread misperceptions about COVID-19 and the novel coronavirus threaten to exacerbate the severity of the pandemic. We conducted preregistered survey experiments in the United States, Great Britain and Canada examining the effectiveness of fact-checks that seek to correct these false or unsupported beliefs. Across three countries with differing levels of political conflict over the pandemic response, we demonstrate that fact-checks reduce targeted misperceptions, especially among the groups who are most vulnerable to these claims, and have minimal spillover effects on the accuracy of related beliefs. However, these reductions in COVID-19 misperception beliefs do not persist over time in panel data even after repeated exposure. These results suggest that fact-checks can successfully change the COVID-19 beliefs of the people who would benefit from them most but that their effects are ephemeral.

Humanizing racialization: Social psychology in a time of unexpected transformational conjunctions.

The unexpected transformations produced by the conjunction of COVID-19, the murder of George Floyd and the resurgence of Black Lives Matter highlight the importance of social psychological understandings and the need for a step change in theorization of the social. This paper focuses on racialization. It considers issues that social psychology needs to address in order to reduce inequalities and promote social justice. It draws on theoretical resources of intersectionality and hauntology to illuminate the ways in which social psychological research frequently makes black people visible in ways that exclude them from normative constructions. The final main part of the paper presents an analysis of an interview with the racing driver Lewis Hamilton to illustrate possible ways of humanizing racialization by giving recognition to the multiplicity and historical location of racialized positioning. The paper argues that, while social psychology has made vital contributions to the understanding of group processes and of racisms, there remains a need to humanize racialization by conducting holistic analyses of black people's (and others') intersectional identities.

Social psychology and COVID-19: What the field can tell us about behavior in a pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc in the lives of people around the world. Pandemics are powerful situations that can be examined from a social psychological lens. In this special section, four articles present data collected before and during the pandemic, providing a type of quasi-experimental design that helped examine the impact of the pandemic on social behavior. A number of findings emerged: the pandemic potentially increased instances of cyberbullying; the pandemic may have increased reports that Black-White intergroup interactions are more competitive and discriminatory; the pandemic may have reduced negative attitudes and bias in domestic versus international students in the U.S; and the pandemic may have allowed feelings of helplessness to provide a fear-reducing mechanism. We expand upon these findings by discussing how social psychology can help us understand and modify behaviors related to health and social relations during major threats like a pandemic.

'Constituent Covid-19 apocalypses: contagious conspiracism, 5G, and viral vaccinations'.

The uncertainties and scale of the Covid-19 pandemic has mobilised global anxieties and insecurities, and many cultural groups have conjuncturally embedded conspiracy theories within millennial and apocalyptic thought to explain and find meaning in the pandemic. The apocalypse lends itself well to conspiratorial thinking because conceptually it is flexible enough to reflect any crisis. To this end, the global development of Covid-19 conspiracism is what the authors term 'contagious conspiracism' which is defined as viral global cultural conspiracism. The paper explores how millennialist responses to Covid-19 in various media outlets transcend academic categories of analysis and cultural boundaries between, say, religious and secular, far-right and radical left. First explored is how the crisis became embedded in established (mainly American) contemporary millennial beliefs and prophecies through selected far-right, evangelical and radical left narratives. Second, it is shown how these theories have been 'improvised' to include 5 G and also travelled to Europe and taken on geographical significance in Belfast and Berlin. Third, the authors illustrate the shared ingredients, motivations, and semiotics across apocalyptic conspiratorial Covid-19 narratives, all of which resonate with concerns about power, specifically emergent surveillance technologies, governmental abuse of power, and neoliberal capital, with divergent truths about who is blame from 5 G/vaccine theories to corporate technocapitalism. The paper concludes that these shared discourses across apocalyptic and conspiratorial Covid-19 narratives mean many of us are conspiracists and/or conspiracy theorists at some level and is therefore both revealing of the similarities and has the potential to create democratic constituencies.

Coronavirus (COVID-19), pandemic psychology and the fractured society: a sociological case for critique, foresight and action.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and mass lockdowns that continue to shake the world, sociologists of health and illness have been advised to undertake research only when the time feels right and to avoid premature evaluation. Such advice makes sense, especially amidst an epidemic of interpretation that has resulted in substandard work. However, this contribution argues that when trying to understand and perhaps analyse early societal responses to COVID-19, medical sociology comprises a toolbox of ideas that are 'good to think with' and should not be ignored. Indeed, our community is well placed to make its presence felt sooner rather than later as we collectively live through a deepening critical situation. Divided into two sections, this piece first offers a critical appreciation of Philip Strong's classic essay on 'epidemic psychology', noting some insights and posing research questions for pandemic times. Second, going from micro- to macro-sociological concerns, it builds on Graham Scambler's calls for not only critique but also foresight and action within a 'fractured society' comprising class-generated fissures and tensions. Early interventions from other leading medical sociologists and publicly engaged intellectuals are also cited when asking 'what sort of society are we heading towards and what sort of world do we want to share?'

Covid-19 in the brazilian prison system: from indifference as a policy to a death policy / Covid-19 no sistema prisional brasileiro: da indiferença como política à política de morte / Covid-19 en el sistema penitenciario brasileño: de la indiferencia como política a la política de muerte

Resumo No início do ano de 2020, a Covid-19 - doença causada por um novo tipo de coronavírus - foi classificada como pandemia pela Organização Mundial de Saúde e acometeu países de todos os continentes, levando a morte de centenas de milhares de pessoas. No Brasil, a doença também se espalhou rapidamente, exigindo medidas de isolamento social. Marcadas pela superlotação e infraestrutura precária, as prisões brasileiras tornaram-se alvo de preocupação de órgãos nacionais e internacionais que demandaram medidas de desencarceramento. Nesse contexto, o presente artigo analisa a proposição do Departamento Penitenciário Nacional de utilização de contêineres para abrigamento de pessoas presas, na contramão da resolução 62/2020 do Conselho Nacional de Justiça, que pautou pela necessidade de redução da população privada de liberdade. Discute-se como a desconsideração por medidas de desencarceramento e a demanda por proposições ainda mais violadoras de direitos apontam para a ratificação de uma política de morte para as pessoas presas.

Resumen A principios de 2020, la Organización Mundial de la Salud y los países afectados de todos los continentes clasificaron la Covid-19 - una enfermedad causada por un nuevo tipo de Coronavirus - como una pandemia, lo que provocó la muerte de cientos de miles de personas. En Brasil, la enfermedad también se ha propagado rápidamente, lo que requiere medidas de aislamiento social. Marcadas por el hacinamiento y la precariedad de la infraestructura, las cárceles brasileñas se han convertido en un objetivo de preocupación para los organismos nacionales e internacionales que han exigido medidas de liberación. En este contexto, este artículo analiza la propuesta del Departamento Nacional Penitenciario de utilizar contenedores para albergar a los presos, en contra de la resolución 62/2020 del Consejo Nacional de Justicia de Brasil, que se guió por la necesidad de reducir la población privada de libertad. Se discute cómo el desprecio por las medidas de liberación y la demanda de propuestas aún más violadoras de derechos apuntan a la ratificación de una política de muerte para los presos.

Abstract At the beginning of 2020 Covid-19 - a disease caused by a new type of coronavirus - was classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization and affected countries on all continents, leading to the death of hundreds of thousands of people. In Brazil, the disease has also spread quickly, requiring measures of social isolation. Marked by overcrowding and precarious infrastructure, brazilian prisons have become an issue of concern for national and international organizations that have demanded releasing measures. In this context, this article analyzes the National Penitentiary Department's proposal to use containers to shelter prisoners, which is against Resolution 62/2020 of the National Council of Justice, that pointed to the reduction of the population deprived of liberty. It is discussed how the disregard for releasing measures and the demand for even more rights-violating propositions lead to the ratification of a death policy for prisoners.

Grief and nonviolence in a pandemic: precarity, mental health and other ways of living / Luto e não-violência em tempos de pandemia: precariedade, saúde mental e modos outros de viver / Luto y no violencia en tiempos pandémicos: precariedad, salud mental y otras maneras de vivir

Resumo Este trabalho visa propor uma reflexão sobre a importância da vivência coletiva dos processos de luto, interditados pela emergência da pandemia da Covid-19. Com base em ideias trazidas por intercessores que falam da carência de rituais na cultura contemporânea a partir de paradigmas tradicionais, como Ailton Krenak e Davi Kopenawa, somadas aos princípios apresentados pela perspectiva da não-violência agressiva de Judith Butler, as autoras desenvolvem a hipótese de que o luto, quando elaborado coletivamente, através da oferta de espaços seguros de escuta empática e sensível nos quais as narrativas das dores das perdas sejam acolhidas, pode resultar num processo de resolução de traumas, despertando, assim, a potência necessária para uma composição que leve a ações criativas e solidárias de cuidado comunitário. Metodologicamente, se faz uso da cartografia como processo de registro das linhas de força e afetabilidade reveladas por escutas realizadas em grupos junto aos quais as autoras atuam.

Resumen Este trabajo tiene como objetivo proponer una reflexión sobre la importancia de la experiencia colectiva de los procesos de luto, prohibida por el surgimiento de la pandemia de COVID-19. Basado en ideas aportadas por intercesores que hablan de la falta de rituales en la cultura contemporánea de paradigmas tradicionales, como Ailton Krenak y Davi Kopenawa, sumados a los principios presentados por la perspectiva de la no violencia agresiva de Judith Butler, las autoras desarrollan la hipótesis de que el luto, cuando se desarrolla colectivamente, a través de la provisión de espacios seguros para escuchar con empatía y sensibilidad en los cuales las narraciones de los dolores de pérdida son bienvenidos, puede resultar en un proceso de resolución de trauma, despertando así el poder necesario para una composición que conduzca a acciones creativas y de apoyo de atención comunitaria. Metodológicamente, se utiliza la cartografía como proceso para registrar las líneas de fuerza y afectividad reveladas al escuchar grupos con los que trabajan las autoras.

Abstract This paper proposes a reflection about the importance of the collective experience of grieving processes, that were interrupted by the emergency of the COVID 19 Pandemic. It is based on ideas brought by intercessors who tell us about the scarcity of rituals in contemporary culture from the perspective of traditional paradigms, such as Ailton Krenak and David Kopenawa, in alliance with the principles presented by Judith Butler's perspective of aggressive nonviolence. The authors develop the hypothesis that grieving, when collectively elaborated with the offer of a safe environment of empathic and sensitive listening, where the narratives of pain and loss are welcomed, can result in a process of trauma resolution. This way, it awakens the necessary potency for composing creative and solidary actions of common care. Methodologically, the cartography is used as a process to register the lines of force and affectability that are revealed by listening processes in groups which the authors work.

The psychology of protecting the UK public against external threat: COVID-19 and the Blitz compared.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the World War 2 aerial bombing campaign against the UK between 1939 and 1945 both exposed the civilian population to a sustained threat. Risk, whether from exposure to viral load or the density of the bombing, led to a range of protective measures and behavioural regulations being implemented. The V1 and V2 missiles used in summer and autumn, 1944, functioned as a second wave of bombing, arriving after people believed the danger had passed. Adherence to lockdown and a reluctance to return to work after the lifting of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK were mirrored in the preference for using home-based bomb shelters during the air raids. Heightened sensitivity to risk, or a so-called deep shelter mentality, did not materialise even during the second wave of bomb attacks and some deep bomb shelters were closed because of low occupancy. The most popular protective measures were those that reflected people's preferences, and not necessarily those that provided the greatest safety. As with the COVID-19 pandemic, the public drove government policy as much as they followed it.

Gone with the Wind.

OBJECTIVE: If the narrative of "coronavirus" has an underlying theme, it may perhaps for some be one of survival, whilst for others, the theme might be suffering. The recurring motif of survival has continued throughout history, yet for the first time the sum of all fears has amounted to a run on the bare essentials. This paper seeks to offer an alternative formulation of "panic buying," with references to literature, philosophy, and contemporary neurobiology. CONCLUSION: The bare essentials disappeared perhaps as part of some self-fulfilling prophecy: the supermarkets became bare because others inadvertently lead us to believe they would become bare. The contagion model of emotional propagation provides a psychological model of how "panic buying" by an individual might lead to the replication of panic in an observer. The Polyvagal Theory further informs us of how the threat posed by the pandemic primes our limbic system to perceive danger, and explains how witnessing others engaging in fight-flight responses might evoke a fearful affect in an observer. In the end, it is perhaps through Nietzsche's study of classical tragedy that we may find some meaning to the pandemic, allowing our collective lived experience to serve as a template for growth.