The Behaviour Changes in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic within Malaysia

Eugene Koh Boon Yau; Nicholas Pang Tze Ping; Wendy Diana Shoesmith; Sandi James; Noor Melissa Nor Hadi; Jiann Lin Loo

doi:10.21315/mjms2020.27.2.5

The Behaviour Changes in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic within Malaysia

Malays J Med Sci. 2020 Mar;27(2):45-50. doi: 10.21315/mjms2020.27.2.5. Epub 2020 Apr 30.

Authors

Eugene Koh Boon Yau¹, Nicholas Pang Tze Ping², Wendy Diana Shoesmith², Sandi James^{2

3}, Noor Melissa Nor Hadi⁴, Jiann Lin Loo⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia.
² Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sabah, Malaysia.
³ Department of Social Work and Social Policy, School of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Australia.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Tuanku Fauziah, Perlis, Malaysia.
⁵ Queensway Clinic, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom.

Abstract

The novel coronavirus infection, COVID-19, is a pandemic that currently affects the whole world. During this period, Malaysians displayed a variety of behaviour changes as a response to COVID-19, including panic buying, mass travelling during movement restriction and even absconding from treatment facilities. This article attempts to explore some of these behaviour changes from a behaviourist perspective in order to get a better understanding of the rationale behind the changes.

Keywords: COVID-19; behaviourism; mental health; psychiatry; social sciences.