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dc.contributor.authorNtontis, Evangelos
dc.contributor.authorVestergren, Sara
dc.contributor.authorSaavedra, Patricio
dc.contributor.authorNeville, Fergus
dc.contributor.authorJurstakova, Klara
dc.contributor.authorCocking, Chris
dc.contributor.authorLay, Siugmin
dc.contributor.authorDrury, John
dc.contributor.authorStott, Clifford
dc.contributor.authorReicher, Stephen
dc.contributor.authorVignoles, Vivian
dc.date.accessioned2022-03-01T10:30:03Z
dc.date.available2022-03-01T10:30:03Z
dc.date.issued2022-02-25
dc.identifier.citationNtontis , E , Vestergren , S , Saavedra , P , Neville , F , Jurstakova , K , Cocking , C , Lay , S , Drury , J , Stott , C , Reicher , S & Vignoles , V 2022 , ' Is it really “panic buying”? Public perceptions and experiences of extra buying at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic ' , PLoS One , vol. 17 , no. 2 , e0264618 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264618en
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.otherPURE: 278024527
dc.identifier.otherPURE UUID: 95c656ce-b395-4a8a-bef9-2302a268f269
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0001-7377-4507/work/109316081
dc.identifier.otherScopus: 85125333502
dc.identifier.otherWOS: 000787811000130
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/24969
dc.descriptionFunding: The research presented here was supported by a QR seed grant by the School of Psychology and Life Sciences at Canterbury Christ Church University awarded to Evangelos Ntontis, and by a UKRI grant awarded to John Drury, Clifford Stott, Stephen Reicher, Fergus Neville and Evangelos Ntontis (ES/V005383/1).en
dc.description.abstractShopping behaviour in response to extreme events is often characterized as “panic buying” which connotes irrationality and loss of control. However, “panic buying” has been criticized for attributing shopping behaviour to people’s alleged psychological frailty while ignoring other psychological and structural factors that might be at play. We report a qualitative exploration of the experiences and understandings of shopping behaviour of members of the public at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 23 participants, we developed three themes. The first theme addresses people’s understandings of “panic buying”. When participants referred to “panic buying” they meant observed product shortages (rather than the underlying psychological processes that can lead to such behaviours), preparedness behaviours, or emotions such as fear and worry. The second theme focuses on the influence of the media and other people’s behaviour in shaping subsequent shopping behaviours. The third theme addresses the meaningful motivations behind increased shopping, which participants described in terms of preparedness; some participants reported increased shopping behaviours as a response to other people stockpiling, to reduce their trips to supermarkets, or to prepare for product shortages and longer stays at home. Overall, despite frequently using the term ‘panic’, the irrationalist connotations of “panic buying” were largely absent from participants’ accounts. Thus, “panic buying” is not a useful concept and should not be used as it constructs expected responses to threat as irrational or pathological. It can also facilitate such behaviours, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
dc.format.extent17
dc.language.isoeng
dc.relation.ispartofPLoS Oneen
dc.rightsCopyright: © 2022 Ntontis et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en
dc.subjectPanic buyingen
dc.subjectExtra buyingen
dc.subjectCOVID-19en
dc.subjectCoronavirusen
dc.subjectConsumer behavioren
dc.subjectBF Psychologyen
dc.subjectRA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicineen
dc.subjectNDASen
dc.subjectSDG 3 - Good Health and Well-beingen
dc.subjectSDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Productionen
dc.subject.lccBFen
dc.subject.lccRA0421en
dc.titleIs it really “panic buying”? Public perceptions and experiences of extra buying at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemicen
dc.typeJournal articleen
dc.contributor.sponsorEconomic & Social Research Councilen
dc.description.versionPublisher PDFen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. School of Managementen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. School of Psychology and Neuroscienceen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264618
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.identifier.grantnumberES/V005383/1en


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