Photos of grocery store shelves throughout the nation are prominent on social media, and that in itself could be creating a problem.
The Illinois Retail Merchants Association is working with Illinois lawmakers to push out the urgent message that there is "Zero need for hoarding" groceries in Illinois. Hoarding is exacerbating the panic and anxiety levels throughout the state.
"There is plenty of food if everyone practices common-sense and returns to normal shopping patterns," a statement from the IRMA said Monday.
"As an example, if you shop on Thursday for the following week, then shop on Thursday and get what you need for the following week. Not for the next three weeks.
"There is ZERO need for hoarding. Hoarding is creating a problem that doesn't need to exist. Even in countries that have imposed in-home quarantines, people have been allowed free access to necessities.
There is a caution, though, the IRMA conveys: "Simply practice good hygiene and social-distancing when you shop."
On the other hand, a social psychology professor says we really don't know whether people are hoarding or being sensible.
People aren’t panicking, Stephen Reicher of St. Andrews University told The Hill, they’re making rational decisions based on the information that is available to them.
"But that information can be faulty," he said. "It's called availability bias, meaning that our sense of things doesn't necessarily reflect how frequently they occur but how frequently they are reported in the world. It's the same reason people overestimate the number of murders, while underestimating the instance of petty crimes that are less likely to make the evening news."
“Crucially, our ability to get through this crisis – and it is a real crisis – will be contingent upon our ability to come together as a community and have a sense of this is about us, not a sense of me and you,” Reicher said. “And that’s undermined when people come to believe that other people are not supportive, not there for them, but are their competitors.”
