Elite Cues and the Rapid Decline in Trust in Science Agencies on COVID-19

Hamilton, Lawrence C.; Safford, Thomas G.

doi:10.1177/07311214211022391

Cited by 70 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 170 publications

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“…While the authors suggest that polarization over climate change in the US exists most acutely in these elite spaces of power (p. 88), they also argue that elite polarization is not mirrored by the broader public. Yet others claim that messaging from political and media elites, particularly on the American right, tends to override scientific consensus in informing their followers how to think about specific issues such as climate change (Brulle, 2014; Carmichael & Brulle, 2017) or, more recently, COVID-19 (Hamilton & Safford, 2021). This top-down dissemination of politicized opinion can drive polarization.…”

Section: Existing Explanations Of Political Polarization and Politica...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Morality, Emotions, and the Ideal Environmentalist: Toward A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Political Polarization

Kennedy

Muzzerall

2021

American Behavioral Scientist

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Americans are politically polarized in their views on environmental protection, and scholars have identified structural and cultural drivers of this polarity. Missing from these theories is a consideration of the emotional dynamics at play in environmentally relevant interactions between liberals and conservatives. Based on analyses of in-depth interviews conducted with 63 politically and socioeconomically diverse residents of four communities in Washington State, we find evidence of important common ground across the political spectrum. Our participants voice support and respect for environmental protection and convey a shared image of an ideal environmentalist: a conscious, caring, and committed individual who seeks to reduce their personal environmental impact. We see political differences arise when our participants evaluate their own relationship with the environment against this ideal environmentalist. Liberals are more likely to align with or admire the ideal environmentalist and conservatives are more likely to challenge or denigrate the ideal. Emotions and competing claims for moral worth, we suggest, play a role in making these political differences polarizing.

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Section: Existing Explanations Of Political Polarization and Politica...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Morality, Emotions, and the Ideal Environmentalist: Toward A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Political Polarization

Kennedy

Muzzerall

2021

American Behavioral Scientist

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“…29 While the current study focused on evaluating a protocol to engage children in genetic mental health research in schools, it is also important to consider the role of the broader social and cultural context with acceptability of different approaches to genetic research also dependent on building public understanding and trust at a societal level. There is some evidence for a decline in trust over time 30 (with survey response rates showing a general decline), [31][32][33] as well as variation between countries in levels of public trust in science. 34 To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that has assessed in detail the feasibility and acceptability of collecting saliva samples in schools for the purpose of genetic studies together with obtaining consent for data linkage.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collecting genetic samples and linked mental health data from adolescents in schools: protocol coproduction and a mixed-methods pilot of feasibility and acceptability

et al. 2022

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ObjectivesTo coproduce a school-based protocol and examine acceptability and feasibility of collecting saliva samples for genetic studies from secondary/high school students for the purpose of mental health research.DesignProtocol coproduction and mixed-methods feasibility pilot.SettingSecondary schools in Wales, UK.ParticipantsStudents aged 11–13 years.Primary and secondary outcome measuresCoproduced research protocol including an interactive science workshop delivered in schools; school, parental and student recruitment rates; adherence to protocol and adverse events; ability to extract and genotype saliva samples; student enjoyment of the science workshop and qualitative analysis of teacher focus groups on acceptability and feasibility.ResultsFive secondary schools participated in the coproduction phase, and three of these took part in the research study (eligible sample n=868 students). Four further schools were subsequently approached, but none participated. Parental opt-in consent was received from 98 parents (11.3% eligible sample), three parents (0.3%) actively refused and responses were not received for 767 (88.4%) parents. We obtained saliva samples plus consent for data linkage for 79 students. Only one sample was of insufficient quality to be genotyped. The science workshop received positive feedback from students. Feedback from teachers showed that undertaking research like this in schools is viewed as acceptable in principle, potentially feasible, but that there are important procedural barriers to be overcome. Key recommendations include establishing close working relationships between the research team and school classroom staff, together with improved methods for communicating with and engaging parents.ConclusionsThere are major challenges to undertaking large-scale genetic mental health research in secondary schools. Such research may be acceptable in principle, and in practice DNA collected from saliva in classrooms is of sufficient quality. However, key challenges that must be overcome include ensuring representative recruitment of schools and sufficient parental engagement where opt-in parental consent is required.

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“…Self-serving (or apparently self-serving) actions of the elite may cause a sharp decrease in trust in institutions for some people, while others keep being trustful. With the COVID-19 crisis, trust in governments and scientific institutions oscillated but mostly decreased (Hamilton & Safford, 2021).…”

Section: Counter Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aggressive Measures, Rising Inequalities and Mass Formation During the COVID-19 Crisis: An Overview and Proposed Way Forward

2022

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Elite Cues and the Rapid Decline in Trust in Science Agencies on COVID-19

Cited by 70 publications

References 170 publications

Morality, Emotions, and the Ideal Environmentalist: Toward A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Political Polarization

Morality, Emotions, and the Ideal Environmentalist: Toward A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Political Polarization

Collecting genetic samples and linked mental health data from adolescents in schools: protocol coproduction and a mixed-methods pilot of feasibility and acceptability

Aggressive Measures, Rising Inequalities and Mass Formation During the COVID-19 Crisis: An Overview and Proposed Way Forward

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