A Partisan Pandemic
How Covid-19 Was Primed for Polarization
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5741879 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Austin Hegland (0009-0005-4948-1954), Annie Li Zhang (0000-0001-8553-5941), Brianna Zichettella (0000-0001-9517-8140), Josh Pasek (0000-0001-6099-6119, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 700 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 55-72 |
| Publication date | 2022-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7162 • E-ISSN: 1552-3349 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00027162221083686 |
| OpenAlex | W4229064404 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 25 |
| References cited | 28 |
Americans who affiliate with both major political parties rapidly formed diverging attitudes about the COVID-19 pandemic. Matters of scientific concern have elicited partisan reactions in the past, but partisan divergence of opinion on those issues occurred over decades rather than months. We review evidence on factors that led to polarization of previous scientific issues in an effort to explain why reactions diverged so quickly this time around. We then use publicly available survey data to reveal that partisan reactions to the pandemic were closely associated with trust in public health institutions, that the association between partisanship and trust increased over time, and that the conflation of trust and partisanship appears to largely explain polarized reactions to COVID-19. We also investigate the hypothesis that conservative media use might explain polarization but find that the hypothesis is not supported by our data
2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Conflation · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) · Divergence (linguistics) · Economics · Epistemology · Pandemic · Polarization (electrochemistry) · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Public opinion · Sociology · Survey data collection · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Medicine · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Virology
Gender differences in anxiety during Covid-19
Evaluating potential unintended consequences of Covid-19 vaccine mandates and passports
Communities of Knowledge in Trouble
The Costs of Polarizing a Pandemic
How Different Uses of Social Media Inform Perceptions of Offline Social Norms and Changes in Vaccine Intentions
Alluring or Alarming? The Polarizing Effect of Forbidden Knowledge in Political Discourse
Anti-intellectualism amid the Covid-19 pandemic
Learning from Crisis
No One Mourns the Wicked
Party Preferences as a Polarizing Factor During the Covid-19 crisis? The Evidence From Panel Survey
Fight like hell”
Self-uncertainty and conservatism during the Covid-19 pandemic predict perceived threat and engagement in risky social behaviors
The Canary in the Coal Mine
Perceived vulnerability to infectious disease and perceived harmfulness are as predictive of citizen response to Covid-19 as partisanship
‘Follow the science’
Beyond Census Metrics
Bridging the Divide
Personality, political party identification, and partisan news consumption
Decreasing Survey Response Rates in the Time of Covid-19
Navigating pandemic waves
Politicizing Masks? Examining the Volume and Content of Local News Coverage of Face Coverings in the U.S. Through the Covid-19 Pandemic
Social Disruption, Gun Buying, and Anti-System Beliefs
The Political Economy of Health
Using General Messages to Persuade on a Politicized Scientific Issue
When Science Becomes Embroiled in Conflict
The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion
Elite party cues increase vaccination intentions among Republicans
Polarization and public health
Public Acceptance of Evolution
It’s not my consensus
Partisan Paths to Exposure Diversity
An attack on science? Media use, trust in scientists, and perceptions of global warming
Not All Skepticism Is Equal
Niche News
Nasa Faked the Moon Landing—Therefore, (Climate) Science Is a Hoax
How Affective Polarization Shapes Americans’ Political Beliefs
Complexity in Attitudes Toward Abortion Access
Do partisanship and politicization undermine the impact of a scientific consensus message about climate change
Politicization and Polarization in Climate Change News Content, 1985-2017
Some Deficits and Some Misperceptions
Unstable Majorities
How Right-Leaning Media Coverage of Covid-19 Facilitated the Spread of Misinformation in the Early Stages of the Pandemic in the U.S
The Effects of the “War on Science” Frame on Scientists’ Credibility
Climate on Cable
The Origins and Consequences of Affective Polarization in the United States
Conspiracy theories as barriers to controlling the spread of Covid-19 in the U.S
Politicization of Science in the Public Sphere
Elite polarization, party extremity, and affective polarization
Public Awareness of the Scientific Consensus on Climate
| Unique citing works | 25 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 6,25 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 25 |