Nudging (dis)trust in science: Exploring the interplay of social norms and scientific trust during public health crises

Abstract

In times of public health crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a critical need for interventions that emphasize group unification. Such interventions may motivate individuals to adhere personally and collectively to health advice, enhance national solidarity, and reduce conspiratorial beliefs among members—particularly among those who may express skepticism or distrust towards science. Across three experimental studies (N_total = 1604) conducted online (Experiments 1 & 3) and in a real-world setting (Experiment 2) in Ireland and Kosovo, we assessed participants' trust in science (i.e., the extent to which they trust in science and scientists) and exposed them to one of three conditions regarding COVID-19 health advice: compliance (i.e., the majority of ingroup members comply with the health advice), non-compliance (i.e., the majority of ingroup members do not comply with the health advice), or no advice (i.e., control condition with no health advice information). Overall, the results showed that participants with low (vs. high) trust in science intended to adhere to health advice, expected ingroup members to do the same, experienced greater national solidarity, and reduced their conspiracy beliefs in the compliance condition compared to noncompliance or control conditions. Participants' feelings of national solidarity explained the observed effects. In sum, this set of experimental studies shows that compliance with health advice during a health crisis not only enhances national solidarity but also promotes adherence to health behaviors and reduces conspiracy beliefs, especially among those initially skeptical of science.