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Partisan polarization and resistance to elite messages: Results from survey experiments on social distancing

Author

Listed:
  • Syon P. Bhanot

    (Swarthmore College)

  • Daniel J. Hopkins

    (University of Pennsylvania)

Abstract
COVID-19 compelled government officials in the U.S. and elsewhere to institute social distancing policies, shuttering much of the economy. At a time of low trust and high polarization, Americans may only support such disruptive policies when recommended by same-party politicians. A related concern is that some may resist advice from “elite†sources such as government officials or public health experts. We test these possibilities using novel data from two online surveys with embedded experiments conducted with approximately 2,000 Pennsylvania residents each, in spring 2020 (Study 1 in April and Study 2 in May-June). We uncover partisan differences in views on several coronavirus-related policies, which grew larger between surveys. Yet overall, Study 1 respondents report strong support for social distancing policies and high trust in medical experts. Moreover, an experiment in Study 1 finds no evidence of reduced support for social distancing policies when advocated by elites, broadly defined. A second experiment in Study 2 finds no backlash for a policy described as being backed by public health experts, but a cross-party decline in support for the same policy when backed by government officials. This suggests that, in polarized times, public health experts might be better advocates for collectively beneficial public policies during public health crises than government officials.

Suggested Citation

  • Syon P. Bhanot & Daniel J. Hopkins, 2020. "Partisan polarization and resistance to elite messages: Results from survey experiments on social distancing," Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration, vol. 3(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:bpd:articl:v:3:y:2020:i:2:jbpa.32.178
    DOI: 10.30636/jbpa.32.178
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Allcott, Hunt & Boxell, Levi & Conway, Jacob & Gentzkow, Matthew & Thaler, Michael & Yang, David, 2020. "Polarization and public health: Partisan differences in social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    2. Bechtel, Michael & Hainmueller, Jens & Hangartner, Dominik & Helbling, Marc, 2015. "Reality Bites: The Limits of Framing Effects for Salient and Contested Policy Issues," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 3(3), pages 683-695.
    3. Bullock, John G., 2011. "Elite Influence on Public Opinion in an Informed Electorate," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 105(3), pages 496-515, August.
    4. Bursztyn, Leonardo & Rao, Akaash & Roth, Christopher & Yanagizawa-Drott, David, 2020. "Misinformation during a Pandemic," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1274, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    5. Aaron Deslatte, 2020. "To shop or shelter? Issue framing effects and social-distancing preferences in the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration, vol. 3(1).
    6. Lerman, Amy E. & Sadin, Meredith L. & Trachtman, Samuel, 2017. "Policy Uptake as Political Behavior: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 111(4), pages 755-770, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jinghan Yuan & Hansong Zou & Kefan Xie & Maxim A. Dulebenets, 2021. "An Assessment of Social Distancing Obedience Behavior during the COVID-19 Post-Epidemic Period in China: A Cross-Sectional Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-16, July.
    2. Lucia Freira & Marco Sartorio & Cynthia Boruchowicz & Florencia Lopez Boo & Joaquin Navajas, 2021. "The interplay between partisanship, forecasted COVID-19 deaths, and support for preventive policies," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Eugen Dimant, 2020. "Hate Trumps Love: The Impact of Political Polarization on Social Preferences," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 029, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    4. Block, Ray & Burnham, Michael & Kahn, Kayla & Peng, Rachel & Seeman, Jeremy & Seto, Christopher, 2022. "Perceived risk, political polarization, and the willingness to follow COVID-19 mitigation guidelines," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    5. Nick Bellissimo & Gillie Gabay & Attila Gere & Michaela Kucab & Howard Moskowitz, 2020. "Containing COVID-19 by Matching Messages on Social Distancing to Emergent Mindsets—The Case of North America," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-10, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public opinion; Polarization; Elite messaging; Survey experiment; COVID-19;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • Z00 - Other Special Topics - - General - - - General
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General

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