Affective Attitudes in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Dynamics of Negative Emotions and a Sense of Threat in Poles in the First Wave of the Pandemic

Abstract

For millions of people, the COVID-19 pandemic situation and its accompanying restrictions have been a source of threat and confrontation with negative emotions. The pandemic’s universal and long-term character, as well as the ensuing drastic limitation of control over one’s life, have made it necessary to work out adaptive strategies that would reduce negative experiences and eventually lead to the restoration of well-being. The aim of this research was to identify strategies that people use in response to a long-term threat that restore affective balance and a subjective sense of security. We registered selected manifestations of affective reactions to the pandemic situation. The researchers focused on the dynamics of changes in the areas of (1) experienced negative emotions (asked in an indirect way) and (2) a subjective feeling of threat regarding the pandemic (in three different contexts: Poland, Europe, and worldwide) during the first phase of the pandemic in Poland. It was expected that both the negative emotions and the sense of threat would decrease with time. In addition, it was anticipated that the physical distance would modify the assessment of the situation as threatening depending on the geographical proximity: in Poland, Europe, and worldwide. We used the mixed quasi-experimental design in the series of four studies conducted by Internet in March, May, June, and July 2020. The intensity of negative emotions and the sense of threat caused by the pandemic situation in Poland, Europe, and worldwide were measured. Despite the objective number of confirmed COVID-19 cases during each of the stages of the study, both the intensity of emotions attributed by participants as well as the feeling of threat were found to have decreased. In addition, surprisingly, a reversed effect of the distance was revealed: namely, a sense of threat experienced towards distant locations (Europe and the world) was found to be more acute when compared with the threat experienced in Poland. The obtained results are interpreted as a manifestation of adaptive perception of the threat that lies beyond one’s control, which takes the form of unconscious, biased distortions: unrealistic optimism. The decrease in the intensity of negative emotions explains unrealistic absolute optimism, while the perception of the situation in Poland as less threatening than in Europe and around the world is predicted by unrealistic comparative optimism.

Anyone but Me: Unrealistic Optimism, Emotions and Anxiety in the Face of COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The presented results show that the phenomenon of unrealistic optimism was present during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland, consistent with other studies [19,26]. Furthermore, we broadened the previous findings by showing how unrealistic optimism might be connected with different types and emotions (especially negative automatic and positive reflective ones), showing how our affective experiences may be linked to this cognitive bias.…”

“…Previous studies showed that unrealistic optimism may have been present during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic among university students, who assessed their chances of contagion as significantly lower than those of other people [19]. Similarly, this phenomenon was visible in manipulation of distance, whereby people assessed the threat of contagion in their own country as significantly lower than the threat in Europe and the whole world [26]. The importance of the occurrence of unrealistic optimism is due to the fact that it may play a crucial role in whether preventive behaviours are undertaken [27].…”

“…We also wanted to measure the feeling of anxiety caused by coronavirus (and various facets of this threat, including its controllability, seriousness, realness, and familiarity) and specific emotions experienced by people in this particular situation, such as being protective, and the risk factors regarding feeling of anxiety. We took into consideration not only negative emotions [26,56,57] but also positive ones, expecting them to be especially significant in relation to unrealistic optimism and anxiety.…”

Predictors of Feeling of Threat Caused by COVID-19 Pandemic, the Distinctive Effects of Automatic vs. Reflective Emotions

“…This raise in stress and anxiety symptoms also could be observed in other countries seriously damaged by the virus in the early stage, namely Italy and the USA [ 13 , 14 ], but also in countries less damaged by the pandemic’s first outbreak, like India or Singapore [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]. In Poland, where the presented study was conducted, there was also an immediate raise in the level of experienced anxiety, the feeling of threat and negative emotions [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. The aim of the presented study was to identify emotional, cognitive and demographic factors that could increase the COVID-related feeling of threat, or be protective against it.…”

“…They started to find growth in this situation, experiencing compassion and gratefulness [ 43 ]. Among the general population on the other hand, we could see a decrease in the intensity of negative emotions as the pandemic lasted, which could mean that the span of experienced emotions changed, with more reflective-originated feelings counterbalancing the strong initial automatic reaction [ 20 ]. As reflective emotions are the ones bringing homeostasis in a situation of crisis, we can expect that, generally, the pattern of emotional functioning involving reflective emotions may be protective against negative outcomes of stress.…”