Since the announcement of DORSCON Orange, people in Singapore have been stockpiling food and necessities — a movement which has since been labelled as panic buying.

Although the government has assured its citizens that there are ample supplies, the advice has gone somewhat unheeded.

If you belong to the group of Singaporeans who simply doesn't understand the rationale (or irrationality) behind panic buying, here's a short explanation of the psychology behind the action.

Groupthink behaviour

The Singapore Psychological Society, a non-profit organisation which aims to promote and disseminate knowledge on the field, has taken to Facebook to explain such reactions.

Everyone experiences risks in their daily lives, but when an emergency situation occurs, our brains are hardwired to react a certain way, the post said.

Witnessing these situations causes the certain regions in our brain to be activated.

These regions are the amygdala, a region which controls the processing of emotions, and parts of the cortex which affect our cognitive abilities.

When activated, our brains basically get "hijacked" by the emotional system, resulting in panic and groupthink behaviour, similar to herd mentality.

Groupthink behaviour is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when a group of people make irrational decisions due to a desire to conform.

According to the society, these responses translate into a fight or flight reaction, driven by the need for "self-preservation, protection and safety".

This harkens back to prehistoric times, where humans have to be on constant alert for predators.

The same thing is thus happening now, but this time, people are "hyper-focusing" on the virus.

Some tips to reduce fear and anxiety

Singapore Psychological Society also mentioned the costs borne by society and the economy, such as discrimination towards Chinese and frontline workers, as well as rising tensions.

Panic buying has also deprived the less fortunate or privileged of essential items like groceries and masks.

However despite the bad and the ugly, some good has also come out of this crisis.

To mitigate irrationality and calm our fight or flight responses, the organisation encourages people to:

• Acknowledge our fears. "Resource sharing could unite rather than divide the community in a time of need."
• Respect each other.
• Buy as you need and avoid hoarding.
• Be more discerning of news and information, instead of consuming inaccurate updates borne of fear and panic.
• Avoid finger-pointing and seek to understand others instead.
• Fact check and watch out for fake news.
• Seek professional help if fear and anxiety is affecting your daily activities.

You can read the full post here.