Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Politicians Polarize And Experts Depolarize Public Support For Covid-19 Management Policies Across Countries, A. Flores, J.C. Cole, S. Dickert, Kimin Eom, G.M. Jiga-Boy, T. Kogut, R. Loria, M. Mayorga, E.J. Pedersen, B. Pereira, E. Rubaltelli, D.K. Sherman, P. Slovic, D. Vastfjall, L. Van Boven

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Political polarization impeded public support for policies to reduce the spread of COVID-19, much as polarization hinders responses to other contemporary challenges. Unlike previous theory and research that focused on the United States, the present research examined the effects of political elite cues and affective polarization on support for policies to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in seven countries (n = 12,955): Brazil, Israel, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Across countries, cues from political elites polarized public attitudes toward COVID-19 policies. Liberal and conservative respondents supported policies proposed by ingroup politicians and parties more than …