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Food shopping under risk and uncertainty.
1Department of Psychology, Middlesex University, London UK.
Learning and Motivation
|October 19, 2020
Summary
Behavioral science can explain pandemic panic buying using foraging models. This study relates increased purchasing to food caching, predicting behavior under risk and threat.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Science
- Ecology
- Pandemic Studies
Background:
- Media reported widespread food panic buying during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
- Behavioral science has largely overlooked the phenomenon of panic buying.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose optimality models of foraging under risk and uncertainty as a framework for understanding pandemic panic buying.
- To develop testable hypotheses regarding the behavioral drivers of panic buying.
Main Methods:
- Relating panic buying to increased foraging effort, characterized as heightened purchasing and spending.
- Analyzing pandemic-related risks: food security and predation (perceived infection risk).
- Conceptualizing panic buying as a form of food caching for risk buffering.
Main Results:
- Food security risks were largely mitigated early in the pandemic.
- Perceived threat to life (infection risk) persisted but lessened over time.
- Panic buying is framed as a strategy to buffer against these risks.
Conclusions:
- Optimality models of foraging offer a valuable lens for studying panic buying.
- Six predictions are formulated regarding panic buying behavior under varying food insecurity and perceived threat levels.
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