I'm late to this article, but it sheds light on a reflex psychologists (myself included!) should watch out for: assuming large trends can be explained by individuals' thoughts and feelings.

(1/3) https://marker.medium.com/what-everyones-getting-wrong-about-the-toilet-paper-shortage-c812e1358fe0

COVID's toilet paper shortage caused experts to blame about anxiety, herd mentality, and a desire for control.

@WillOremus masterfully dissolves this assumption. The shortage reflects something else entirely: different production lines for commercial and industrial TP.

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Obv I believe individuals' minds matter! But they intersect with structures of all sorts. Both levels of analysis are needed to understand behavior, and in attempts to make change.

This is an amazing example of that, from an unusual source.



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