FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, when news of its potential economic and social impact spread, Kevin Fitzpatrick was shopping for toilet paper at Sam’s Club.

“I was doing like everyone else was doing, gathering up my toilet paper and paper towels,” Fitzpatrick says in the new episode of Short Talks From the Hill, a podcast of the University of Arkansas. “And I was shut out. I didn’t get any of either. … I guess I was surprised. … While things were clearly developing both here in the country and around the world, in terms of the supply chain, I had not expected that.”

For sociologists like Fitzpatrick, observing group behavior can be both a burden and a boon. Instead of  shaking his fist at the world, he started asking questions. Why toilet paper? Maybe sociologists hadn’t looked at such behavior close enough.

“Is there a level of fear that’s creating what we might consider maladaptive behavior,” Fitzpatrick says in the podcast. “Like hoarding, for example. Anecdotally we’d heard about it. We just hadn’t lived it.”

Fitzpatrick returned to work and discussed the phenomenon with colleagues in his department. Within weeks they had received a special grant from the National Science Foundation to study several sociological aspects of the pandemic, including fear and food insecurity.

To listen to Fitzpatrick discuss this project with Sarah Brown, communications assistant in the office of Research and Innovation, go to ResearchFrontiers.uark.edu, the home of research news at the University of Arkansas, or visit the "On Air" and “Programs” link at KUAF.com.

Short Talks From the Hill highlights research and scholarly work at the University of Arkansas. Each segment features a university researcher discussing his or her work. Previous podcasts can be found under the ‘Short Talks From the Hill’ link at ResearchFrontiers.uark.edu.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3 percent of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.