Investigating the conservatism-disgust paradox in reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic: A reexamination of the interrelations among political ideology, disgust sensitivity, and pandemic response

Abstract

Research has documented robust associations between greater disgust sensitivity and (1) concerns about disease, and (2) political conservatism. However, the COVID-19 disease pandemic raised challenging questions about these associations. In particular, why have conservatives—despite their greater disgust sensitivity—exhibited less concern about the pandemic? Here, we investigate this “conservatism-disgust paradox” and address several outstanding theoretical questions regarding the interrelations among disgust sensitivity, ideology, and pandemic response. In four studies (N = 1,764), we identify several methodological and conceptual factors—in particular, an overreliance on self-report measures—that may have inflated the apparent associations among these constructs. Using non-self-report measures, we find evidence that disgust sensitivity may be a less potent predictor of disease avoidance than is typically assumed, and that ideological differences in disgust sensitivity may be amplified by self-report measures. These findings suggest that the true pattern of interrelations among these factors may be less “paradoxical” than is typically believed.

Disgust proneness influences the effects of political orientation on xenophobia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“…The finding that disgust proneness at the early stages of the pandemic moderated the association between political conservatism and xenophobia during the COVID-19 pandemic was observed even when anxiety about the COVID-19 pandemic was included as a covariate. Of course, this raises an interesting paradox given that while conservatives were more xenophobic, especially during the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have also consistently been found to be less anxious about the pandemic than liberals (e.g., Ruisch et al, 2022). In fact, research has shown that conservatives generally reported lower endorsement of social distancing measures (Gadarian et al, 2021) and mask-wearing (Olatunji et al, 2022), an effect that was mediated by lower perceptions of the health risk posed by the virus (Rothgerber et al, 2020).…”

“…One important limitation is the exclusive reliance on self-report measures, which may have inflated associations among study variables. Indeed, research using non-self-report measures has found preliminary evidence suggesting that ideological differences in disgust proneness may be amplified by self-report measures (Ruisch et al, 2022). It should be noted that this limitation appears to be especially relevant for measures of disgust proneness that assess participants’ beliefs regarding how they would behave in a variety of hypothetical disgusting situations (Olatunji et al, 2007), as this may contribute to content overlap between disgust proneness and ideological concerns.…”