Risk homeostasis is probably at work here. Risk homeostasis (also called Risk Compensation) is the theory that people typically adjust their behavior in response to the perceived level of risk, becoming more careful where they sense greater risk and less careful if they feel more protected.

When the first patient saw that everyone else in society was more aware that there is risk involved in being out in public, her perceived risk level decreased, so she was willing to come over to the office. She reported that she did not encounter any other people in her time out from home aside from me.

The second patient, by comparison, had increased awareness of the risks of going out in public…after all, that’s where he could be exposed to the virus. Since his perceived risk of leaving home went higher, he changed his behavior to reduce that perceived risk, and stayed home.

This has been shown to happen in many areas of life. When people perceive an increase in risk in one area of life, they will often become more conservative (risk-averse) in other areas of life. By contrast, sometimes this works in reverse. When we make things safer, people are willing to take greater risks.

For example, there was an increase in the number of drivers speeding with the advent of mandated safety belts in automobiles. There was also an increase in tail-gating with the addition of anti-lock braking systems. We manufacture the cars to be safer, and drivers reduce their safe driving techniques.

Lesson #2 – I cannot prevent all risk for a patient. Even if I could, the person would adjust their behavior and increase the risk back to their tolerance level.

Another observation is one that I call “risk exaggeration.” This is my own term, and probably appears in psychology journals somewhere under a different name. My definition of risk exaggeration is the decision of a person to increase risky behaviors when an increased risk already exists.

This person would likely tell themselves the following:

“It’s already dangerous to go out my front door because of the coronavirus, so how much more dangerous is it for me to speed while driving?”

This is exemplified by those drivers that have been blowing past me when driving on I-95 or I-695. These guys pass me like I’m sitting still. Now granted, I do drive a Prius (and my wife always reminds me that I drive like a “slow Prius-driver,” now), so it doesn’t take much to pass me. Because I’m the “slowest man on the road” (her words, not mine), I’m probably not the best judge of how fast the other driver is going. But I can tell you, it’s much faster than the posted speed limit.

Now the speeding drivers are being safe, because they are wearing a mask in their car while driving at 105 miles-per-hour. At least they won’t get the virus…even though they will likely die if they have an accident at that speed. But hey, it’s risky just to be out of the house, so how much worse can it be to speed?

Can you see the flawed logic there?

An interesting side note are the folks that wear gloves while pumping gas, then get back in their car and drive with the gloves on. One of the dirtiest surfaces on earth is a gas pump handle, second only to a public mailbox handle and an escalator hand rail. Surprise! Both a bathroom door handle and toilet flush lever are cleaner than a gas pump!

But think about what that person just did. They touched the dirty gas pump handle with a glove (good idea), then got back into the car while still wearing the glove (bad idea). They still brought all the germs with them into their car environment. That actually did nothing to reduce the risk of getting sick from coming in contact with the gas pump handle.

Just think about all the people who pump gas, go into the convenience store at the station, buy food, and then start eating that food in their car…without washing their hands. Yuck.

Sorry, for the digression.

Lesson # 3 – Yes, it’s risky to walk out your front door…but it always has been. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that more risk-taking behavior does not put you at higher risk for other troubles during this time (or any other time for that matter).

I cannot assume that you have the same risk tolerance as I have.

I would not ride a motorcycle because I am too afraid of the risks involved. By contrast, many of my friends ride motorcycles without the same fear. For them, the thrill of riding far outweighs any fear of the risks involved.