The Importance of Macropsychology and Psychological Governance in Responding to the Pandemic.

What is it about?

Controlling the pandemic has required governments globally to implement behavior change agenda, through new policies, laws, and public communication strategies. The concept of "psychological governance" has therefore been critical to curtailing the pandemic. Psychological governance refers to the application of insights from behavioral and psychological sciences to public policy for the purpose of influencing behavior at the individual, group, and population levels. Similarly, a macropsychology perspective aims to understand and influence behavior at the population level, through the application of psychology to factors that influence the settings and conditions of our lives, such as policies, laws, institutions, systems, and structures. Psychological governance and a macropsychology perspective are crucial to supporting pandemic preparedness, coping, and recovery at the population level. In this article, the role of psychological governance in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic is examined. This article also explores the role of several macropsychological factors in the pandemic, such as heroism, trust in government, culture, equitable access and human rights.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

COVID-19 is spread primarily through human behavior. The scale of COVID-19 renders it a population health challenge, necessitating a response coordinated by government, using insights from behavioral and psychological science. Psychological science is uniquely positioned to provide insight into behavior change to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and to support an equitable and rights-based response to the pandemic. This will, however, require psychology to focus beyond the individual level, to policies, laws, institutions, structures, and systems at the population level.