Covid-19 and the Understanding of Panicked Reactions to Media

It seems each day that American society drifts further away from any discernable ability to reason for themselves. Despite the obvious controversies surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, many Americans are still guided by an overwhelming sense of fear. People are falling in compliance with face covering policies either on the mandatory level, or voluntarily, under the misguided notion that they are protecting themselves, and others, against the virus. It was only a few months ago when images of Chinese first responders were reacting to the disease, for dramatic effect no less, in full hazmat suits on the evening news. If the novel coronavirus was in fact that deadly, the idea that a cloth facial covering can provide any protection is misguided. Still, society is marching in lockstep with an agenda that will more than likely lead to mandatory vaccinations and possibly, the denial of societal participation for refusing to comply. How did people become so susceptible to such blatant propaganda? The answers can be found in social science and ironically, people’s reaction to an infamous radio broadcast.

The radio broadcast in question was Orson Wells’ War of the Worlds that was heard on Halloween night in 1938. The presentation was masterfully done and drove many people across the country into a frenzied panic under the belief that America had been invaded by Martians. According to the book Invasion from Mars: The Study of the Psychology of Panic, people were driven to such a state of fear that local water towers were shot by citizens who believed they were alien craft. People’s reaction to War of the Worlds can be used as a comparison to the current crisis gripping the nation because the event itself, and the reaction it caused, was studied by the social scientists of the day and a great deal of insight into the people’s panicked reaction was inevitably gained.

Such rare occurrences provide opportunities for the social scientist to study mass behavior. They must be exploited when they come. Although the social scientist unfortunately cannot usually predict such situations and have his tools of investigation ready to analyze the phenomenon while it is still on the wing, he can begin his work before the effects of the crisis are over and memories are blurred. The situation created by the broadcast was one which shows us how the common man reacts in a time of stress and strain. It gives us insights into his intelligence, his anxieties, and his needs, which we could never get by tests or strictly experimental studies. The panic situation we have investigated had all the flavor of everyday life and, at the same time, provided a semi-experimental condition for research. In spite of the unique conditions giving rise to this particular panic, the writer has attempted to indicate throughout the study the pattern of the circumstances which, from a psychological point of view, might make this the prototype of any panic. (Cantril, War of the Worlds)

There are some interesting correlations to the way people reacted then, and the way they are reacting now. No doubt, this was realized as psychologist have been studying human behavior for decades. One point of interest was that upon interviewing the people that panicked, because not everyone did, it was revealed that their trust in media contributed to their belief in the broadcast. This is despite it being made abundantly clear before the show, that it was indeed a play. Millions of people heard that and therefore, did not react with panic. Furthermore, it was revealed that when actors playing experts that were part of the programming described certain situations, the belief that this was a real event was reinforced because of the faith people put in authority figures. In other words, actors playing the part of experts, gave the radio broadcast such a unique feeling of it being an actual news program, people believed it. Is it possible that this insight gained into the study of panicked reactions to media contributed to the news programming we have today? A constant display of talking heads posing as authority figures telling us what to believe?

Another interesting observation gained from that study refers to what psychologist’s call “suggestibility.” Some people are more easily influenced for several different reasons. According to Cantril, these reasons varied from education levels to the ability to compare what was being heard on the radio to other information available to listeners at the time. One of the most interesting observations however, and this one can be directly related to today’s hysterical reactions to Covid-19, is the revelation that people’s panicked reactions can be, in large part, motivated by stimulus’ their brain has no reference to categorize. In other words, the information they are receiving (stimulus) is so overwhelming to them because they have no frame of reference to compare it to in order to make a sound judgement on how to react; therefore, panic takes over. Remember, this was something learned from a study back in 1938. Consider again American media presenting videos of the Chinese first responders reacting to a “new virus,” allegedly killing thousands, while dressed down in full hazmat suits. This is a stimulus that many Americans had no idea how to deal with. To this day, the media continues to feed us false statistics reinforcing a belief that we are in the middle of a world ending pandemic. It is safe to say, considering the information gained from the War of the Worlds study, that they fully expected the masses to react the way they did.

There is little doubt that there is an effort to use media to create societal anxiety to exert social control. Behaviorists have known for decades that human behavior can be manipulated through the control of the environment. In fact, psychologists like B.F. Skinner attribute all human behavior to environmental circumstances that have nothing to do with the concept of free will, or willingly choosing how we behave. In his book “Science and Human Behavior” Skinner writes that man’s behavior can largely be determined by the specific conditions to which he is exposed. In other words, he believed that the environment largely predicted the way men would behave.

If we are to use the methods of science in the field of human affairs, we must assume that behavior is lawful and determined. We must expect to discover that what a man does is the result of specifiable conditions and that once these conditions have been discovered, we can anticipate and to some extent determine his actions (Skinner, Science and Human Behavior). 

Have they discovered these conditions by creating media stories which incite panic and anxiety? There is a study that indicates that simply watching too much television creates a higher level of susceptibility to being panicked or believing that what you are watching represents reality. Herbert Krugman wrote in Brainwave measures of Media Involvement, that the human brain, when exposed to too much television, begins to perceive what is being presented through the limbic system, which is viewed as the reptilian brain, as reality. It governs our fight or flight mechanisms and fails to process information correctly. Our brains begin to associate what we are viewing with representing real life. This is especially true if an individual watches more than thirty hours of week of television, which most Americans do.

When you’re watching television the higher brain regions (like the midbrain and the neo-cortex) are shut down, and most activity shifts to the lower brain regions (like the limbic system). The neurological processes that take place in these regions cannot accurately be called “cognitive.” The lower or reptile brain simply stands poised to react to the environment using deeply embedded “fight or flight” response programs. Moreover, these lower brain regions cannot distinguish reality from fabricated images (a job performed by the neo-cortex), so they react to television content as though it were real, releasing appropriate hormones and so on. Studies have proven that, in the long run, too much activity in the lower brain leads to atrophy in the higher brain regions. (Krugman, 1971)

While this article may not definitely prove why Americans have become so suggestible to the wearing of face masks at government dictates, it provides interesting insights into human behavior based on existing studies examining human reactions to  media, what psychologists know about stimulus response mechanisms, and the effects modern media can have on the brain. Based on this information it could theoretically be argued that compliance with mandatory, or even voluntary masking, was largely expected. There is more that supports this argument. In an article entitled “The Psychological Manipulation of Universal Masking,” published by Health Freedom Ohio, the author points out the long used tactic of discrediting people who do not go along with social norms. People who refuse to wear masks are uncaring, selfish and pose a danger to everyone else. Those wearing masks have been fooled into believing that they are morally superior and that their actions show that they have a deep concern for the safety of us all, despite any evidence which may show otherwise. B.F. Skinner had something to say about this as well. In “Beyond Freedom Dignity,” Skinner says that people can be persuaded into behaving in certain ways out of a fear of being rejected. This type of control, according to Skinner, is more powerful than a full-blown police state.   In other words, those wearing masks are doing so out of a deep-rooted fear that they will be perceived as contributing to the problem, or not caring about humanity. They will then viciously defend their actions because they have been led to believe that their compliance represents a moral superiority.  

Those who work productively because of the reinforcing value of what they produce are under the sensitive and powerful control of the products. Those who learn in the natural environment are under a form of control as powerful as any control exerted by a teacher. (Skinner, Beyond Freedom Dignity.)

The Covid-19 crisis has been going on since February. Despite the abundant evidence available showing that it is not the doomsday scenario the media portrays; people are falling in lockstep with government dictates. The wearing of useless cloth face coverings; or even surgical masks, which are made to protect a sterile environment from your exhaled germs, is becoming an epidemic in and of itself. People are susceptible to the misinformation being presented to them largely because human reaction to media has been thoroughly studied and there is a clear understanding of how exposure to television affects the brain. If people continue to comply with ridiculous assertions and useless mandates in the name of protecting us from Covid-19, the consequences could be a complete loss of freedom and an ability to reason at all.