Shared Emergent Norms Amidst Pandemic

Abstract

Although we have bodies adapted to the 21st century, our brains still function to protect us against all kinds of threats, as they did millions of years ago. Pandemic perception includes the intuitive judgments, beliefs, and attitudes of individuals and societies that experienced the disaster. In addition to the danger faced, psychological, social and cultural components and their mutual interactions can create a great deal of uncertainty. The Spanish Flu, with a deep imprint in our collective memory, affected about a third of the world's population. Although our species tends to have control over events, the Covid-19 pandemic, which we are living 100 years later, broke our routines once again and reminded humanity of its weakness against nature. Individual isolation and social distances continue to make people more vulnerable. At the beginning of the epidemic, we experienced a global panic, but after many social events we have experienced with lockdowns and quarantines in about 2 years, we are experiencing a different situation today. The fearful reaction we initially gave to this natural threat gave way to an attempt to answer the question of how we can live a safe life with the virus, as we began to learn about the virus and with the availability of vaccines. Because pandemics are potentially devastating, they often create spaces for debate and conflict. Therefore, beyond just being a public health issue, they require a response through multidisciplinary studies. We cannot just accept the coronavirus pandemic as a biological invasion. People's social conditions are the major determinants of their susceptibility to disease, and they are politically shaped. In this global platform in which all humanity is under threat regardless of the rich or poor, trust in political power and institutions is tested and the problems experienced in accessing treatment continue to hurt people's sense of justice. The perception that the epidemic is not managed well and that the data regarding the epidemic are being concealed increases the tendency of the public towards scientific explanations rather than populist discourses in some countries. Since the states implemented decisions on their own in panic and distrust, they could not cooperate towards a solution that could save all humanity. The coronavirus has changed our daily routines and priorities in both individual and social contexts. We noticed the weaknesses of our health, economy and education systems. All these experiences will produce some cognitive and behavioural consequences over time. Every crisis generates new norms. It is considered that the coronavirus pandemic will also produce new psycho-social values and psycho-political norms in the coming years.