Communicating uncertainty about the link between COVID-19 and bats: the indirect effects on attitudes toward bats in the United States

Abstract

ABSTRACT With its roots in zoonosis, the COVID-19 pandemic has made bat conservation more challenging. This study examines how communicating the varying levels of uncertainty regarding the association between bats and COVID-19 influences attitudes toward bats. An online, non-probability sample of 940 U.S. adults read messages about bats that portrayed the levels of uncertainty as either high or low, or did not read any message. The results show that a high- (vs. low-) uncertainty message led to less blame assigned to bats, contributing to a more positive attitude toward bats. Disgust and compassion mediated these effects. Overall, this study explicated an important yet rarely studied cognitive-emotional pathway concerning a stigmatized species that enriches the understanding of the role of message and psychological factors in influencing attitudes toward bats. Practically, when there are uncertainties associated with the causal link between infectious diseases and wildlife, it is better to communicate such uncertainties.