Joshua Ackerman, an associate professor of psychology at University of Michigan, said that determining who will follow recommendations for social distancing is best understood by examining their motivations. ¶¶”Younger people tend to hold a greater sense of invulnerability than older people, which may make calls to socially distance based on personal safety relatively ineffective for this audience,” said Ackerman. Framing public health messages in ways that fit the motivations of specific audiences, he said, will result in better outcomes.¶¶But, as Knowles and Ackerman both noted, people struggle with uncertainty.¶¶”In situations like this one, where information is constantly changing, and a lack of clarity about the state of the problem inevitably exists, people usually experience a high degree of anxiety,” said Ackerman. “This response can crowd out the effort needed to think things through in deep ways, and instead lead individuals to seek quick, immediate answers in order to relieve the anxiety.”¶¶That’s what leads to things like panic-buying, said Ackerman, which recently led the U.S. to go on a completely unnecessary shopping spree for toilet paper.¶¶”Unlike, say, a dangerous predator or violent person, this virus isn’t chasing after us,” added Ackerman. “Therefore, taking a little extra time to breathe, consider alternate ideas and information, and perhaps trying to self-distance-thinking about oneself from an external perspective-all may help reduce feelings of anxiety and promote more wise decision-making.”