The world has lived with the COVID-19 pandemic for almost 3 years now and it has uprooted every single human-being in one way or another. BEST have been on the forefront of behavioural science research into global impacts of the pandemic, showing how a single-discipline approach, whether it’s in the hard sciences, economics or behavioural sciences is likely to fail with many of today’s challenging problems.
We are extremely proud of our growing body of research in this space, with our students and members publishing over 30 papers (and counting) on topics ranging from the effects of globalisation on pandemic responses, to methods and insights on how to explore human behaviour in a disaster environment, and even contributing to one of the largest global studies on national identity as a predictor of public health support during a global pandemic. In addition to these publications, BEST have been very active in the news and media, appearing several times on and in The Conversation, Nature Research and the ABC – resulting in over 20 media citations on the topic of COVID-19 alone recorded for our members in 2020.
Many of our events and projects also examined the pandemic through the lens of behavioural sciences. Our Drivers of Innovation workshop included presentations surrounding “Intellectual Property, Access to Medicines, and the Coronavirus”, evidence into how uncertainty stifles innovation and growth, and the role of 3D printing in enhancing the speed and scope of innovative activities. Furthermore, the Trust and Mistrust in Australian News Media project investigated Australia’s degree of trust in news media and took into consideration the current climate of COVID-19.
Click on the links below to view our publications, media and news, events and projects, and video content covering the topic of COVID-19.