A Threat-and-Defense Perspective on the Psychological Dynamics Behind the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

In this review, we analyse the Covid-19 pandemic in the light of the General Process Model of Threat and Defense (GPMTD; Jonas et al., 2014) and describe motivational and affective consequences resulting from the psychological threat elicited by the pandemic: Covid-19 did not only abruptly change everyday life, but also confronted people with existential questions. This led to the experience of discrepancies that people could not resolve, triggering an aversive state of anxious inhibition. People were motivated to overcome this anxiety using defensive behaviours that re-establish approach motivation. Such defensive behaviours include conspiratorial thinking and increased ingroup support. While describing the pandemic, we review evidence in favour and against the model to develop concrete suggestions to effectively promote non-destructive reactions to manage affective-motivational challenges resulting from the pandemic. In a final outlook, we conclude that the evidence generated may be used to analyse and react to future crises and their related psychological threats.

Keywords

• threat and defense
• pandemic
• covid-19
• existential questions