Why Do People Panic Buy Over Toilet Papers That Do Not Protect Against Coronavirus? Psychology Behind Explained

Anxious Australians are buying toilet paper to cope with their worries about coronavirus. Still, they must be considering different methods to relieve their stress.

While different countries have run low on bathroom paper, Australians are stockpiling regardless of there being no chance of running out as 60 percent of the country's toilet paper is manufactured locally.

Stories of Aussies scrambling over every other to panic-purchase multi-packs of toilet paper have been beamed across the world, leaving many puzzled.

So why are all of us panicking?

People lodge to extremes while they pay attention to conflicting messages

Steven Taylor, a clinical psychologist and writer of "The Psychology of Pandemics," said the global response to the novel coronavirus causes panic.

Noting the understandable response amid crisis, Taylor, a clinical psychologist at the University of British Columbia, told CNN some reacted excessively.

The novel coronavirus scares people due to the fact it is new, and the public faces uncertainty about the new virus. Taylor said people lodge to the extreme when they pay attention to the conflicting messages about the danger the virus poses and how seriously they should put together for it.

The actions do not appear proportionate to the threat when people are informed that something risky is coming, said Taylor. "Special hazard needs special precautions," he added.

People resort to "simple answers" in times of crisis.

Dr. Paul Harrison, a human behavior expert at Deakin University, told news.com.au that humans --- in general --- were drawn to "simple answers" in times of crisis.

Noting that COVID-19 unfolds minute-by-minute, Harrison said coronavirus is an abstract problem. He added people tend to be drawn to small things that they can control when humans struggle with nuance and unclear outcomes.

Panic shopping for begets panic buying

Images of empty cabinets and buying carts piled high with elements that have inundated news reviews and social feeds. People see pictures of panic buyers count on there is a purpose to panic and purchase up materials, too, Taylor stated.

He said people, being social creatures, look to each different for cues for validation on what is safe and secure. People tend to worry when a person sees another person panic buying in the store, Taylor added.

All those photos of empty shelves can also lead humans to trust that they have to rush out and grab toilet paper while they can. And what started as perceived scarcity turns into real scarcity, Taylor said.

Social media is a large participant in novel coronavirus fear-mongering, Taylor said. Misinformation spreads with ease, and open platforms expand voices of panic.

The need to overprepare is 'normal'

There can be some practicality in stocking up, says Frank Farley, a professor at Temple University and former president of the American Psychological Association.

With international health agencies now advising that people should stay home and stay away from crowded places, Farley told CNN overpreparing is normal.

"[The novel coronavirus] is engendering a sort of survivalist psychology, where we must live as much as possible at home and thus must 'stock up' on essentials, and that certainly includes toilet paper," he added.

Panic buying over toilet paper is one-of-a-kind that they bought an easily damaged item, Baruch Fischhoff, a psychologist and professor at Carnegie Mellon University said.

It allows some to feel a sense of control

The US Department of Homeland Security advises Americans to keep at least two weeks' worth of food, toiletries, and medical components on hand anyway. Still, Taylor said most human beings don't. So while health officials publicly endorse to inventory up, they will take it to the extreme.

The folks that are stocking up on materials are considering themselves and their family and what they need to do to prepare, Taylor said. Taylor attributed the panic to the wave of anticipatory anxiety beforehand of the real infection.

Cultural aspect to panic buying related to Australia's individualistic attitude

According to Harrison, people who've individualistic characteristics tend to feel unsupported by the community when things fall apart.

"So in this kind of character with individualistic dispositions, amid stress and when the region feels chaotic, people fend for themselves and their family," Harrison added.

Australians have shown they can pull collectively as a system in times of crisis like this year's bushfire emergency; however, Dr. Harrison said coronavirus was different.

He said being quarantined is "quite isolating" metaphorically and literally speaking. "In case you get it, human beings sense they want to look after themselves and their family," Harrison said.