Research examining attitudes and behaviors of Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic has largely focused on partisanship as a lens through which many Americans see the coronavirus.Given the importance of partisan affiliation and the degree AEG BPE742320M SenseCook Pyrolytic Oven With ProSight Plus Touch Cont of partisan polarization in the American society, that is certainly an important driver of public opinion, and a necessary one to understand.But an overlooked set of predispositions might also shape COVID beliefs and attitudes: populism.
It is a worldview that pits average citizens against “the elites” and, importantly in the plastic insert context of a pandemic, it includes anti-intellectual attitudes such as distrust of experts (including scientists).We find that populism is correlated with conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19, above and beyond partisanship.Furthermore, we find that conservative media consumption tends to be a stronger predictor of conspiracy belief among those high in populism than among those low in populism.
We also show that these beliefs have consequences: those who believe the conspiracy theories about COVID-19 are less likely to adapt behaviors recommended by public health officials.