Absent a vaccine or medication, the only solution we have to combat COVID-19 is to wear a mask .

Even so, some people are resistant to the idea. Controversy over mask usage intensified as states began to reopen and ease up social distancing restrictions and then closed down again after recent spikes in new coronavirus cases .

The decision is an easy one for the pro-mask camp: Its a piece of cloth! they argue. Whats so hard about wearing it? You have a responsibility, as a potential asymptomatic carrier, to not endanger others!

But non-mask wearers wont bend. A mandate encroaches on my personal freedom; its my individual right to not wear one.

How did protective masks become so politicized? Were quick to put on a seatbelt to protect ourselves and others, so what is about the mask that works people into a tizzy? (On both sides, to be honest; pro-mask Americans are just as fervent in this fight. In Orange County, California, pro-maskers put their personal safety on the line to urge local government to reinstate mask ordinances. Naturally, anti-mask protesters were there to meet them.)

David B. Abrams , a professor of social and behavioral sciences at the School of Global Public Health at New York University, said the stridency of opinions and extreme polarization over masks can be chalked up to one thing: Because this virus and pandemic feels so unfamiliar, were clinging hard to whatever makes us feel safe in the moment.

Humans, like other primates and other mammals, have a strong inherent, underlying survival instinct that gets hyper-stimulated under sudden threat of an unknown enemy, he told HuffPost. This leads to what psychologists call hot cognition with a strong and powerful set of emotions that completely override and erase the usual rational cool thinking.

Were in a fight or flight physiological state and, for some, the fight is directed at government mask ordinances.

In moments like this, people become hyper-vigilant and super-sensitive to any threat, Abrams told HuffPost. As their adrenal pumps, they respond with massive posturing of anger and a readiness for fight. It is like the rug has been pulled out from under them and the usual world order is gone. Some people become ready for anything.

Thats whats driving our behavior on masks on a psychological level, but the rationales we use when validating our decision on mask-wearing or abstaining vary person by person.

Any human behavior even seemingly simple behavior, such as wearing a mask or not is determined by multiple factors: political beliefs, ideology, social factors, education, said Joseph J. Trunzo, a professor and chair of the psychology department at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

Layer into this the context and all the changes from moment to moment with this virus, and you very quickly have very complicated reasons for any individuals behavior choices, he said.

Reasons vary, but there are some common arguments made by anti-maskers. Below, Abrams, Trunzo and other experts share seven of the most common reasons people refuse to wear a mask.

So much is uncertain right now. It makes me feel in control to choose to go out without a mask.

COVID-19 has ushered in one of the most uncertain eras in modern history, and uncertainty breeds fear, which naturally fuels a need for control, Trunzo said.

The mask gives us a modicum of control, he said.

When faced with uncertain situations over which we have no control, we tend to exercise it wherever we can, so we feel safe, he said. Some will feel safer exercising their control over not wearing a mask, while others will feel safer exercising their control to wear one.

If the need for control is the driving force for someone not wearing a mask, empathizing with their feelings of uncertainty can sometimes convince them to put one on, he said. Most of us pro-masks, anti-masks share that same baseline fear.

The mandate on wearing masks has been inconsistent. Why should I wear one now?

Since coronavirus first emerged earlier this year, guidelines on if we should wear masks have been inconsistent at best. Mixed messaging from leadership and the scientific community on proper precautions has made mask-wearing appear up for debate.

Shane G. Owens, a psychologist and the assistant director of campus mental health at Farmingdale State College (SUNY), went so far as to say that scientists and physicians bear a substantial part of the blame for our failure to wear masks and to keep our distance because the messaging was muddled.

In the beginning, they couldnt manage to say, We dont know yet with this virus, he said. The mixed messages weve all received are probably the main culprit for non-mask wearing. Inconsistent recommendations, along with historic polarization of political parties, magnify a common mistrust of government mandates.

Given the widespread distrust in the government and scientific community, Owens said he often wonders if people would have taken the recommendations more seriously if theyd been issued by a Dr. Phil or Dr. Oz.

Someone like that, as opposed to someone standing behind a podium with a seal, whos worried about reelection, he said.