Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Psychic Numbing

If you're like me and you're wondering why so many people are walking around, visiting family, getting together, going to bars and restaurants, not wearing masks, and generally acting as if there's NOT a raging global pandemic going on, then perhaps the audio clip below will help answer some of your questions. 

It's an interview I heard recently with Dr. Paul Slovik, professor of psychology at University of Oregon, Eugene. 


He explains why Americans don't seem to be bothered by the massive numbers of deaths and why people are likely to not change their behavior in order to reduce infections. The first part is due to a phenomenon known as psychic numbing. The second is due to the psychological principle of reinforcement.

The clip is just a little over 4 minutes long.


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