"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Franklin D Roosevelt was, of course, responding to the economic and social turmoil of the Great Depression, and the "nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror" that had left the nation paralysed.

But, as scenes of barren supermarket shelves are broadcast into living rooms across the country, and confirmed cases of coronavirus are tallied like sport, you'd be forgiven for thinking there are some parallels.

Fear of the new contagion has, paradoxically, become a global infection.

But it's not for the reason you might think.

'Emotions are contagious'

Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, a professor at Cardiff University, has spent the past decade studying the role of emotions in journalism — and coronavirus is no exception.

Amid foreboding headlines like "killer virus" and "deadly disease", she began tracking media coverage of the outbreak, starting from initial reports about the new "mystery illness" on January 12 up until February 13.

Almost 100 high-circulating, English-language newspapers from around the world collectively published 9,387 stories about the virus during this period — and of those, 1,066 mentioned "fear" or related words, like "afraid".

"By contrast, over the same period — which is actually the high period for seasonal influenza — we're looking around 400 stories covered in this way, and fewer than one-in-ten of those stories actually mentioned fear or similar phrases," Professor Wahl-Jorgensen said.

"Emotions are contagious … and they spread across populations. In fact, I would suggest that the fear of the coronavirus is far more contagious than the disease itself."

Unlike previous epidemics, Professor Wahl-Jorgensen adds, coronavirus is playing out through the lens of a "hybrid media system", where traditional mainstream media and social media collide.

It means "misinformation and alarmist material" — like a decade-old map showing global air travel, purporting to illustrate the spread of coronavirus — has circulated through mainstream outlets untested.

This decade-old map showing global air travel was passed off as illustrating the spread of coronavirus. ( Twitter )

"This fear leads people to take actions to perhaps prepare themselves for the apocalypse, which might actually be socially counterproductive," Professor Wahl-Jorgensen said.

"Things like hoarding face masks or, as we've seen in Australia, buying absolutely insane amounts of toilet paper.

"That is something individuals do because they want to take some action to address the fear they feel. But they're not rational or productive from a social point of view."

'Observing other people is the cue for us'

Fear is, at its most basic, a survival mechanism — think "fight or flight".

It's highly adaptive and can be triggered by more than just personal experience with a perceived threat (say, for example, being bitten by a dog).

"One is observation, so if you see someone else being bitten by a dog [that can trigger a fear of dogs]," says Ottmar Lipp, a research professor in Curtin University's School of Psychology.

"The other is information that we receive in other means. So, one way of becoming afraid of going to the beach, for instance, is watching Jaws."

Professor Lipp believes our fear of coronavirus and a prospective pandemic is multifaceted.

There's the fear of the unknown. The fear of disease. The fear of illness. The fear of contagion.

And that fear, paradoxically, can spread through populations just as seamlessly.

"Observing other people is the cue for us, and if these people are afraid … then that will certainly promote fear," Professor Lipp says.

"Particularly if the person who shows that fear is in a position of authority or who someone relies on for their cues."

Are some of us more prone to fear than others?

Australians have seen this fear play out in real time as the impending threat of a coronavirus pandemic has seen supermarket shelves stripped of toilet paper, canned goods, hand sanitiser and bottled water.

For some, it's out of fear of facing two weeks in self-isolation without supplies. For others, it's out of fear of running out of toilet paper — virus or no virus.

Loading

Though it may have garnered headlines across the globe, it is not a phenomenon unique to Australia.

Similar responses have been well-documented during times of economic and social instability.

During the Brexit impasse, for example, a quarter of UK voters said they had started taking precautions against the adverse consequences of a "no" deal, including stockpiling food, toiletries and medicines.

Similar scenes have been observed in the United States, where winter storms coincide with a sudden spike in demand for bread, milk and eggs.

While there are varying schools of thought around our psychological response to panic buying, it begs the question: are some of us simply more prone to feeling fear than others? ( Supplied )

While there are varying schools of thought around our psychological response to panic-buying, it begs the question: are some of us simply more prone to feeling fear than others?

"[There are] individual differences, some people are more anxious than others, which may come from genetics," says Professor Lipp.

"There's a certain propensity of inherent fears, but it's also the experience of when you grow up.

"So, one of the predictors of being anxious for a child, for example, is how anxious mum and dad are."

'Is stockpiling toilet paper really helping us?'

So, how do you maintain a sense of equilibrium when faced with an "unjustified terror", as Roosevelt alluded to?

Professor Wahl-Jorgensen believes it comes down to careful analysis of the cold, hard facts.

"Because we see these constant tallies of the number of new cases of coronavirus, that leaves a sense of urgency to the situation," she says.

"I imagine if we had a similar breakdown of the number of influenza cases, we would see similar public concern about influenza."

Taking a break from rolling coverage around the disease is also beneficial, adds Professor Lipp, who recommends, first and foremost, listening to the experts.

"In a situation like coronavirus, where it's a very amorphous situation that we're encountering, the best approach may actually be to reconsider the situation," he said.

"See what objective information we actually have, how dangerous is it for us, what can we do to minimise the risk and the dangers?

"[And ask yourself] is stockpiling toilet paper really helping us in that situation? Most likely not."