The bright side of the crisis. The positive aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic according to the Poles

Abstract

This article is based on the outcomes of the research project on changes in everyday life during the pandemic, conducted at the beginning of lockdown in Poland with the use of CAWI questionnaire. We focus on results related to defining the positive aspects (PA) of the pandemic, describe the kinds of PA noticed by the respondents, categorise the identified PA (by values, concepts of order, and social change they referred), and analyse how sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents differentiate the responses. We argue that the perceived PA were directed towards individual rather than the general social well-being, that they express hope for maintaining rather than transforming the status quo, and that the nature of recognised PA is more defensive than progressive. Contrary to our initial assumptions, statistical analyses also suggest that the PA perception does not correlate with respondents' socio-demographic characteristics as strongly as expected, which allows for an assumption that other, more situational and personality traits factors also influence the researched phenomenon.

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