Where does the Coronavirus come from? On the mechanisms underlying the endorsement of conspiracy theories on the origin of SARS-CoV-2
| Autor: | Ferruccio Biolcati, Giulia M. Dotti Sani, Nicola Maggini, Marco Maraffi, Paolo Segatti, Antonio M. Chiesi, Riccardo Ladini, Andrea Pedrazzani, Francesco Molteni, Cristiano Vezzoni, S. Guglielmi |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Sociology and Political Science
Political Science media_common.quotation_subject Opposition (politics) Social Sciences Context (language use) Public opinion 050105 experimental psychology Biology and political orientation Government & Law Political science Pandemic 050602 political science & public administration institutional trust 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Positive economics motivated reasoning Skepticism media_common Government Conspiracy theory Motivated reasoning business.industry pandemic 05 social sciences COVID-19 SCIENCE 0506 political science partisanship Political Science and International Relations business |
| Zdroj: | Italian Political Science Review/Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica. 52:51-65 |
| ISSN: | 2057-4908 0048-8402 |
| Popis: | While official science has given its answer to the question on the origin of the Coronavirus (animal to human transmission), alternative theories on human creation of the virus-purposely or inadvertently-have flourished. Those alternative theories can be easily located among the family of conspiracy theories, as they always assume some secretive activity of some groups acting on their self-interest and against the good of the many. The article assesses the prevalence of these beliefs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, studies its development during the pandemic, and investigates its potential determinants. In particular, it analyses the relationship between beliefs in alternative theories on the origin of the virus and political orientation, by arguing that the association cannot be attributed to (politically) motivated reasoning, as the issue has not been highly politicized in the Italian context. Alternatively, the article suggests that the main factor driving beliefs in alternative accounts on the origins of the virus is institutional trust. Political orientation moderates its effects, depending on specific conditions (e.g. cue taking, position of the supported party either in government or opposition), and eventually reinforcing scepticism towards epistemic authorities for those with low trust in institutions. Data come from the ResPOnsE COVID-19 survey, carried out with daily samples from April to July 2020 (N > 15.000) to monitor the development of the Italian public opinion during the Coronavirus pandemic. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Societa Italiana di Scienza Politica. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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