Group-level resistance to health mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic: A groupthink approach.

Abstract

Public health interventions, such as mandated vaccinating or quarantining during an epidemic, are necessary to limit the spread of communicable diseases, but in many cases, certain groups resist these initiatives For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, antiquarantine groups protested the mandate to socially distance and remain at home, claiming these directives violated their right to assemble, travel, and work The current analysis examined media descriptions of these antiquarantine groups to determine if these groups' divergent responses to a legally and medically warranted health initiative resulted from groupthink: the deterioration of judgment and rationality that sometimes occurs in groups In support of this possibility, accounts of these groups indicated that (a) the conditions that cause groupthink, including high levels of cohesion and isolation, were present and potent within these groups and that (b) the groups exhibited many of the symptoms of groupthink, including group illusions and pressures to conform Given the ubiquity of these groups-for centuries, public health interventions have generated opposing antiregulation reactions-no amount of planning may be sufficient to prevent such groups However, a theory-driven approach based on groupthink suggests that group-level interventions that directly address the processes that cause groupthink, such as isolation, conformity pressure, and cohesion, could reduce the influence of such groups on their members and on society (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement Highlights and Implications-*Groups that protest public health interventions that mandate vaccinating or quarantining during an epidemic may be experiencing groupthink: the deterioration of judgment and rationality that sometimes occurs in highly cohesive groups *The group-level processes that are associated with groupthink, such as high levels of cohesion and isolation, were in evidence in the antiquarantine groups that protested medical directives during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 *Group-level interventions that limit groupthink in such groups could reduce the number of individuals who take part in group activities that are inconsistent with legally and medically warranted health initiatives *Groupthink theory provides a general explanation for decision-making in groups, but additional research is needed to determine the validity of the extension of this theory to groups that engage in unusual actions, such as health protests (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)