Most people remain decent even when under pressure

The study by Van der Cruyssen, Verschuere and colleagues, explained in a Science Comic (cartoonist: Jan Cleijne) - The rapid spread of the coronavirus is generating anxiety, stress and pressure. How does this affect people? Some studies claim that stress and pressure make people greedy. Other studies, in contrast, predict solidarity and benevolence. UvA scientists have also researched how people are affected by stress, and their conclusion is an optimistic one. Decision-making plays an important role in stress and pressure: how will one react in a particular situation? Decision-making is an interaction between rapid and automatic thinking on the one hand and slow and reflective thinking on the other. Researchers have long been examining whether rapid and automatic thinking leads chiefly to greed, and whether we need time and reflection to be able to behave fairly. And in times of crisis, time for reflection is in short supply.