Chapter 1. The unbearable darkness of being, and a toolkit for how we forge it: comparative biases -- Chapter 2. How did we forge a bearable reality in COVID-19? Biases in social comparative judgments in a time of pervasive threat -- Chapter 3. Time to worry? Comparative biases and health-related behaviors in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic -- Chapter 4. Time to act! Means of reducing positive illusions -- Chapter 5. Time to bother! Longitudinal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (and others too): Why dismantling social cognition biases is absolutely crucial to save not only lives.

Open Access

This open acess book focuses on a critical aspect of pandemic behavior, which is how important information is communicated. It examines how the press and other entities may bias the dissemination of this information, and what may be done to counteract this tendency. Covering theory and research in this area, the book applies these to practical considerations that may be utilized in times of health crisis. It lays the groundwork for understanding how irrationality becomes a factor. It explores the positive and negative aspects of illusion creating and provides tools for moving more quickly to resolution.