Abstract
U.S.-based research suggests conservatism is linked with less concern about contracting coronavirus and less preventative behaviors to avoid infection. Here, we investigate whether these tendencies are partly attributable to distrust in scientific information, and evaluate whether they generalize outside the U.S., using public data and recruited representative samples across three studies (Ntotal = 34,710). In Studies 1 and 2, we examine these relationships in the U.S., yielding converging evidence for a sequential indirect effect of conservatism on compliance through scientific (dis)trust and infection concern. In Study 3, we compare these relationships across 19 distinct countries. Although the relationships between trust in scientific information about the coronavirus, concern about coronavirus infection, and compliance are consistent cross-nationally, the relationships between conservatism and trust in scientific information are not. These relationships are strongest in North America. Consequently, the indirect effects observed in Studies 1–2 only replicate in North America (the U.S. and Canada) and in Indonesia. Study 3 also found parallel direct and indirect effects on support for lockdown restrictions. These associations suggest not only that relationships between conservatism and compliance are not universal, but localized to particular countries where conservatism is more strongly related to trust in scientific information about the coronavirus pandemic.
Highlights
U.S.-based research suggests conservatism is linked with less concern about contracting coronavirus and less preventative behaviors to avoid infection
In Study 1a, we found a significant indirect effect whereby conservatism was associated with less confidence in the Center for Disease Control (CDC), which was associated with more concern about contracting the virus, conservatism indirectly was linked to less concern through confidence in the CDC, b = − 0.027, SE = 0.003, t = − 9.99, p < 0.001 (Fig. 1A)
In Study 1b, we found a significant indirect effect, such that conservatism was associated with less confidence in the CDC, which was associated with more concern about contracting the virus, conservatism indirectly related to less concern through confidence in the CDC, b = − 0.045, SE = 0.004, t = − 11.94, p < 0.001 (Fig. 1B)
Summary
U.S.-based research suggests conservatism is linked with less concern about contracting coronavirus and less preventative behaviors to avoid infection. Study 3 found parallel direct and indirect effects on support for lockdown restrictions These associations suggest that relationships between conservatism and compliance are not universal, but localized to particular countries where conservatism is more strongly related to trust in scientific information about the coronavirus pandemic. We investigated whether, among Americans, conservatism is indirectly associated with concern about contracting the coronavirus (i.e., personal threat perceptions) and preventative behaviors (e.g., social distancing) through (dis)trust in scientific information about the coronavirus pandemic, using larger, more representative samples than prior work. Existing evidence gleaned from convenience samples during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic suggests that conservatism may be an important antecedent of trust in scientific information within the context of the coronavirus p andemic[16,18,19] This tendency is consistent with other findings that components of conservatism (e.g., resistance to change, religiosity, and traditionalism) can lead conservatives to distrust scientific findings[20,21]. Among Americans, distrust in scientific information is promoted in conservative media networks[27–29], and conservatism is among the strongest predictors of skepticism in anthropogenic climate change[30–32]
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