Follow the scientists? How beliefs about the practice of science shaped COVID-19 views

Abstract

“Follow the science” became the mantra for responding to COVID-19 pandemic. However, for the public this also meant “follow the scientists”, and this led to uneasiness as some viewed scientists as not credible. We investigate how beliefs about the way scientists develop their findings affect pandemic-related views. Our analysis shows that beliefs about scientists' objectivity predict views regrading coronavirus-related risks, behavioral changes, and policy priorities. While political party identity also predicts views about COVID-19-related concerns, these vary by political leaders whose approaches embraced versus dismissed science-based strategies, highlighting the importance of perceptions of scientists in shaping pandemic-related attitudes and beliefs.

Your money or your life? Public support for health initiatives during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…Notably, this research supports studies in other countries that highlight the importance of institutional trust for adhering to public health initiatives during the COVID‐19 pandemic (e.g., Safford, Whitmore and Hamilton 2021 ). Lorenzoni and Pidgeon ( 2006 , 85) argue that trust in political institutions “reflects people's confidence in both the expertise and actions of agencies and institutions that initiate and control risk.” The United States has witnessed a decline in public trust in social institutions in recent years, including trust in government, partly due to the COVID‐19 pandemic (Edelman Trust Barometer 2021 ), and trust in a range of science disciplines and acceptance of scientific findings has become increasingly polarised over time (van der Linden and Lewandowsky 2015 ).…”

“…Notably, this research supports studies in other countries that highlight the importance of institutional trust for adhering to public health initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., Safford, Whitmore and Hamilton 2021). Lorenzoni and Pidgeon (2006, 85) argue that trust in political institutions "reflects people's confidence in both the expertise and actions of agencies and institutions that initiate and control risk."…”

“This is the real face of Covid-19!”: How Refused Knowledge Communities Entered the Pandemic Arena

“…At these uncertain early stages, but also throughout the whole Covid-19 pandemic, a key refrain repeated constantly by most institutional leaders was 'follow the science' (Pérez-González, 2020;Stevens, 2020), a claim which made science synonymous with truth, objectivity and evidencebased rationality. 'Follow the science' was thus the Covid-19 mantra (Safford et al, 2021), extensively used by institutional spokespersons and politicians (Crabu et al, 2021). However, an increasing number of people began to see all mainstream information circulated by public institutions and their experts as partisan (Desta & Mulgeta, 2020;Prasad, 2021).…”

“You Can Do Better Than That!”: Tweeting Scientists Addressing Politics on Climate Change and Covid-19

“…During the pandemic, scientists were at the centre of public discussions on Covid-19 (Leidecker-Sandmann et al, 2022;Safford et al, 2021), giving practical implications of their research for both the public and policymakers (Post et al, 2021). It is stated that the relevance of scientists in informing policy decisions has never been more noticeable than during the pandemic (Scheufele, 2022).…”