The psychology behind why some people

won't wear masks

By Scottie Andrew, CNN

Updated 1653 GMT (0053 HKT) May 6, 2020

(CNN)Most Americans have never had to wear a mask for their health before, let alone while
they shop for groceries or go for a run.
So, even as businesses or states increasingly require them, rebellion is natural -- to a degree,
says Dr. David Aronoff, director of Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Division of
Infectious Diseases and professor of medicine.

But he urges Americans to think of the mask guidance not as forced conformity, but as a
necessary act of solidarity: Wearing a cloth mask could stop seemingly healthy people from
infecting others with coronavirus if they're asymptomatic.

Coronavirus, face masks and America's new fault line

"We're all hopeful that this pandemic disappears," he said. "Then we can stop doing as much
risk mitigation. But for now, we really depend on the trust and kindness of others to protect
our wellbeing. And that's part of being an American."
READ MORE: How to make your own face mask, whether or not you know how to sew

Some think it infringes on their civil liberties

Unmasked protesters in Michigan try to enter the state's House of Representatives chamber
but are blocked by masked Michigan State Police.
Even though wearing masks isn't compulsory in much of the US, adhering to these rules may
feel like, to some, a forfeiture of their freedoms.
People naturally rebel when they're told what to do, even if the measures could protect them,
said Steven Taylor, a clinical psychologist and author of "The Psychology of Pandemics."
"People value their freedoms," he said. "They may become distressed or indignant or morally
outraged when people are trying to encroach on their freedoms."
Aronoff compared the mask guidance to the ban on smoking cigarettes in restaurants or
schools.
"There are rules about not smoking in enclosed restaurants and bars because that smoke can
be deleterious to someone else's health," he said. "Now we're in a situation where, if I'm
infected with the Covid-19 virus, my breath can be lethal to someone else."
But while that legislation is permanent, wearing masks won't be, Aronoff said.
But to vocal opponents, even temporary guidance is too much of a concession.

A security guard was shot after telling a customer to wear a face mask, officials say. His
widow calls the killing 'senseless and stupid'
In Michigan, where up to 700 protesters recently descended on the state Capitol to protest
stay-at-home orders, masks are required in stores and businesses. This month, police say a
Michigan Family Dollar security guard was shot and killed by customers who he'd asked to
wear masks before entering the store.
Also in Michigan, a customer wiped his face on a Dollar Tree employee's shirt after police
say the employee told him to wear a mask.
And within a day of issuing an emergency proclamation requiring masks, the city of
Stillwater, Oklahoma, amended the