How education did (and did not) accentuate partisan differences during the Ebola outbreak of 2014-15

Abstract

Education exacerbates partisan gaps in scientific knowledge and attitudes. However, previous findings about the extent and symmetry of this moderation have been mixed. As a conceptual replication of previous research, this study examines whether education asymmetrically moderates the Democrat-Republican gap in attitudes about Ebola virus disease (EVD) and policies to combat EVD. Weighted data from a survey of 1,461 non-institutionalized adults drawn from a probability-based panel were collected during the 2015 EVD epidemic. The survey measured seven attitudes: fear of personal infection, estimated severity of Ebola, suspicion of exposed Africans, suspicion of exposed Americans, Western government preparedness, support for low-intensity interventions, and support for high-intensity interventions. Knowledge about EVD was also measured. As in prior studies, highly educated Democrats uniquely diverged from other respondents in some attitudes. However, in the other attitudes, there were main party and education effects but no evidence that education was a moderator of partisan differences. Overall, education moderated partisanship when attitudes were affect-laden and targeted toward immediate threats, but not when attitudes were policy-oriented.

Why are Conservatives Less Concerned about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) than Liberals? Comparing Political, Experiential, and Partisan Messaging Explanations

“…Understanding how different ideological groups respond to disease threat is vital for both theoretical and practical reasons. At a theory level, although work evaluating the psychology of disease outbreaks is growing (e.g., Karwowski et al, 2020;Harper et al, 2020;Martin, 2020;Pennycook et al, 2020;Sibley et al, 2020;Zettler et al, 2020), we currently do not have many guiding theories concerning the interface of ideology and disease outbreaks more broadly. Thus, in the present project we aim to use the current data to aid in theory-building in this regard.…”

HEXACO Traits, Big Five Traits, and COVID-19

“…The background for the design of the Ebola study is described elsewhere (Painter, DiClemente, & von Fricken, 2017). Although the Ebola study focused on public health, some findings from the Ebola survey have been published in the psychology literature (Martin, 2020).…”

“…Attitudes pertaining to COVID-19 and health policy were measured using 14 (or 16?) questions, each of which was derived from an Ebola survey (Martin, 2020;Painter et al, 2017). There were two questions each under each of these topics: travel, fear of infection, perceived governmental preparedness, perceived severity of the disease, suspicion toward exposed persons, and interest in vaccines.…”

“…These questions are adapted from the Emory University 2015 Ebola Survey. For related publications see: Martin. (2020).…”

Proximal versus distal ecological stress: Socio-ecological influences on political freedom, well-being, and societal confidence in 159 nations

“…For example, consider the cultural and social psychology of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Much research and theorizing has suggested that disease outbreaks influence cultural beliefs, with a largely unresolved debate centering around the potential causal influence of disease on ideological conservatism (e.g., Beall et al, 2016;Brenner & Inbar, 2015;Helzer & Pizarro, 2011;Martin, 2020;Oosterhoff et al, 2018;Shook et al, 2017;Tybur et al, 2016) and sometimes conflicting results for COVID-19 research in particular (e.g., Brownstein, 2020;Choma et al, 2021;Karwowski et al, 2020;Zettler et al, 2020).…”