{"title":"Misinformation and the Paradox of Trust during the covid-19 pandemic in the U.S.: pathways to Risk perception and compliance behaviors","authors":"Ji won Kim, Jiyoung Lee, Y. Dai","doi":"10.1080/13669877.2023.2176910","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract As declared “infodemic” by the World Health Organization, the proliferation of Covid-19 misinformation has posed a significant challenge to public health efforts to tackle the pandemic. Despite initial evidence on the association between misinformation and behavior, researchers have yet to fully identify intervening variables to account for the behavioral effects of Covid-19 misinformation. To address this question, this study aims to examine whether and how consuming misinformation would predict public trust in health and political institutions, and in turn, shape risk perception and adherence to preventive behaviors. We conducted a web-based survey using a nationally representative sample of 1,400 U.S. adults in October 2020. We found that Covid-19 misinformation exposure was linked to lower trust in public health experts but higher trust in government, which led to a decrease in the perceived severity of Covid-19 and less compliance with public health guidance. Our findings uncover the complex social and psychological processes by which misinformation consumption undermines public health efforts during the pandemic crisis.","PeriodicalId":16975,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Risk Research","volume":"26 1","pages":"469 - 484"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2023-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Risk Research","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2023.2176910","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract As declared “infodemic” by the World Health Organization, the proliferation of Covid-19 misinformation has posed a significant challenge to public health efforts to tackle the pandemic. Despite initial evidence on the association between misinformation and behavior, researchers have yet to fully identify intervening variables to account for the behavioral effects of Covid-19 misinformation. To address this question, this study aims to examine whether and how consuming misinformation would predict public trust in health and political institutions, and in turn, shape risk perception and adherence to preventive behaviors. We conducted a web-based survey using a nationally representative sample of 1,400 U.S. adults in October 2020. We found that Covid-19 misinformation exposure was linked to lower trust in public health experts but higher trust in government, which led to a decrease in the perceived severity of Covid-19 and less compliance with public health guidance. Our findings uncover the complex social and psychological processes by which misinformation consumption undermines public health efforts during the pandemic crisis.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Risk Research is an international journal that publishes peer-reviewed theoretical and empirical research articles within the risk field from the areas of social, physical and health sciences and engineering, as well as articles related to decision making, regulation and policy issues in all disciplines. Articles will be published in English. The main aims of the Journal of Risk Research are to stimulate intellectual debate, to promote better risk management practices and to contribute to the development of risk management methodologies. Journal of Risk Research is the official journal of the Society for Risk Analysis Europe and the Society for Risk Analysis Japan.