As Pandemic Progressed, People’s Perceived Risks Went Up

In the first week of the coronavirus pandemic, people living in the United States underestimated their chances of catching the virus, or of getting seriously ill from the virus, according to a recently published Caltech-led study. But as the days progressed, those same people became more worried about their personal risk, and, as a result, began to increase protective behaviors such as washing hands and social distancing.

The study, a collaboration between Toby Wise, a visiting postdoctoral scholar at Caltech and Dean Mobbs, assistant professor of cognitive neuroscience at Caltech and a Chen Scholar, appears in the journal Royal Society Open Science. 

Read more on Caltech’s website