Partisan polarization and resistance to elite messages: Results from survey experiments on social distancing

Syon P Bhanot,Daniel J Hopkins

doi:10.30636/jbpa.32.178

Abstract

COVID-19 compelled government officials in the U.S. and elsewhere to institute social distancing policies, shuttering much of the economy. At a time of low trust and high polarization, Americans may only support such disruptive policies when recommended by same-party politicians. A related concern is that some may resist advice from “elite” sources such as government officials or public health experts. We test these possibilities using novel data from two online surveys with embedded experiments conducted with approximately 2,000 Pennsylvania residents each, in spring 2020 (Study 1 in April and Study 2 in May-June). We uncover partisan differences in views on several coronavirus-related policies, which grew larger between surveys. Yet overall, Study 1 respondents report strong support for social distancing policies and high trust in medical experts. Moreover, an experiment in Study 1 finds no evidence of reduced support for social distancing policies when advocated by elites, broadly defined. A second experiment in Study 2 finds no backlash for a policy described as being backed by public health experts, but a cross-party decline in support for the same policy when backed by government officials. This suggests that, in polarized times, public health experts might be better advocates for collectively beneficial public policies during public health crises than government officials.

Highlights

COVID-19 compelled government officials in the U.S and elsewhere to institute social distancing policies, shuttering much of the economy
The American public is currently characterized by high levels of political sorting and polarization (Levendusky, 2009; Mason, 2018; Iyengar, Lelkes, Levendusky, Malhotra, & Westwood, 2019), potentially eroding support for policies advocated by officials from the opposite political party
We present evidence from a well-powered experiment in which some respondents read that “public health experts, government officials, and the media have urged people in Pennsylvania” to stay at home and keep businesses closed while others read that it was merely “one proposal” for responding to the pandemic

Summary

Introduction

Recent research suggests that Republicans in particular are increasingly skeptical of political and intellectual elites (Gauchat, 2012; Motta, 2018), a group that could include public health officials during COVID-19. A follow-up survey in late May and early June (Study 2) illustrates that while attitudes grew more polarized over time, Pennsylvania respondents continued to not penalize policies when they were described as supported by public health experts in particular.

Results

Conclusion