Dr. Niels G. Mede - Science-related populism declining during the

Journal article

Niels G. Mede, Mike S. Schäfer
Public Understanding of Science, vol. 31, 2022, pp. 211-222

Cite

APA Click to copy
Mede, N. G., & Schäfer, M. S. (2022). Science-related populism declining during the COVID-19 pandemic: A panel survey of the Swiss population before and after the coronavirus outbreak. Public Understanding of Science, 31, 211–222. https://doi.org/10.1177/09636625211056871

Chicago/Turabian Click to copy
Mede, Niels G., and Mike S. Schäfer. “Science-Related Populism Declining during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Panel Survey of the Swiss Population before and after the Coronavirus Outbreak.” Public Understanding of Science 31 (2022): 211–222.

MLA Click to copy
Mede, Niels G., and Mike S. Schäfer. “Science-Related Populism Declining during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Panel Survey of the Swiss Population before and after the Coronavirus Outbreak.” Public Understanding of Science, vol. 31, 2022, pp. 211–22, doi:10.1177/09636625211056871.

BibTeX Click to copy

@article{mede2022a,
  title = {Science-related populism declining during the COVID-19 pandemic: A panel survey of the Swiss population before and after the coronavirus outbreak},
  year = {2022},
  journal = {Public Understanding of Science},
  pages = {211-222},
  volume = {31},
  doi = {10.1177/09636625211056871},
  author = {Mede, Niels G. and Schäfer, Mike S.}
}

In many countries, the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased public support for societal institutions including science, a phenomenon described as “rally-round-the-flag” dynamic. However, it is unclear if this dynamic has also reduced public resentment toward science such as science-related populist attitudes, that is, the preference of people’s common sense over allegedly elitist scientific knowledge. We test this, relying on individual-level data from panel surveys before and during the pandemic in Switzerland. Results show that science-related populist attitudes decreased after the pandemic started. The decrease was more pronounced among people who had been strong supporters of science-related populism prior to the pandemic, but otherwise spread equally across different sociodemographic and attitudinal segments of the Swiss population. This shows that the Coronavirus outbreak has the potential to undermine persistent (populist) resentments toward science and its epistemology among the general population.