On a number of fronts these past few months, we have all been caught up in “panic mode”, whether it is about the price of houses, food, petrol (price and availability), Council Services, the security of our jobs or the competency of our financial institutions.

So why the panic? Why do we see irrational “binge buying” when petrol distributors go on strike? People buying fuel they don’t even need when, if thinking rationally, they would see that usually plenty of fuel will be available by the time they need it and that the problem will be short-lived. The government knows from past experience that this is human nature and in these situations they now go to great lengths to put out messages that downplay the factors reinforcing such behaviour.

There may be several reasons driving irrational buying behaviour. The first is the most obvious: the natural “herd mentality” of people. If people see queues at petrol stations, they will worry about why people are queuing – “do they know something I don’t” – they then reinforce and perpetuate the panic by queuing themselves. As Albert Einstein once wrote, “imagination is more important than knowledge”. So, in these situations the quicker individual petrol stations get people in and out, the better. If queues occur, forecourt managers should consider putting a sign out indicating that there is no point in waiting, since there is at least four days’ worth of petrol at the station, even if there is high demand.

The second reason is slightly more serious and deep-rooted: it centres on the underlying insecurity in society at the moment, regardless of any particular shortage or strike action that may occur. People at present are feeling worried about the economy, about our financial institutions, about the cost of food and, ultimately, about the security of their jobs. When people feel insecure, they often feel they have little control over events, which makes them susceptible to panic situations and irrational behaviour – behaviour designed to stand them in good stead if ‘the worst happens’.

Perceiving that you lack control over your environment lays the foundations for protective behaviour, which in the case of the fuel strikes means acquiring as much petrol as possible. The “control issue” also extends to how much control we think the government has over the situation – in effect, becoming a “trust issue”. Therefore, the more the government is perceived to be doing something, the less the panic – it’s like control by proxy since the consumer has little or no control in this situation. The recent lorry driver blockades are an example of individuals trying to gain some control (over petrol prices), by influencing government policy and action. Of course, when a nation doesn’t trust a government anyway panic can kick in even sooner.

And finally, as we become more and more dependent on technology like the car, we become worse and worse at rationally thinking through alternative travel strategies. Our lifestyles are now fashioned around the car, rather than the car being fashioned around our lifestyles. This makes the insecurity more profound than it would have been 100 years ago when most people were used to living their lives in their local community. All this panic behaviour is very natural and evolutionary, but it pays to take a moment to think a rational thought that might help you to avoid an irrational act!!