Pandemic-related changes in social interaction predict automatic approach-avoidance behaviour

Abstract People’s natural tendencies to either approach or avoid different stimuli in their environment are considered fundamental motivators of human behaviour. There is a wealth of research exploring how changes in approach and avoidance motivational orientations impact behaviour with consequences for wellbeing. However, research has seldom explored this relationship in reverse. The COVID-19 pandemic offered a unique opportunity to explore whether widespread changes in social behaviour predict changes in automatic approach-avoidance tendencies over time. We gathered data on people’s adherence to 7 of the prescribed social behaviours set out by the UK government and people’s automatic approach-avoidance tendencies in response to different stimuli (sad/happy/neutral faces and social scenes) at three time points during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reduced-overall-interaction (digital and in person) was found to predict faster avoidance relative to approach of sad faces. The results suggest that automatic approach-avoidance tendencies may function to counterbalance the negative impacts of reduced social interaction, with important implications for understanding public resilience during time of crisis, and beyond.