(The Matrix of) Populist and Denialist Attitudes towards Science
(The Matrix of) Populist and Denialist Attitudes towards Science
The current pandemic crisis has exposed the pre-existent fragilities of our globalized, social media era and science denialism and populism have significant negative effects on society and democracy. Matrix intends to improve our current understanding of the links and determinants of populist and science denialism attitudes. Populism promotes the twin beliefs that the common sense of the people is superior to the decision-making processes undertaken by elites and that various elite decision-making groups are out of touch with the people or self-serving. Hence if there are strong populist sentiments within the mood of the public it is highly likely there is a correspondingly high degree of scepticism and mistrust of elites.
Matrix works under the assumption that the Covid-19 pandemic is particular not only for the unprecedented societal effect but also in publicly demonstrating the potential dangers with disavowing expert and scientific evidence. The nature of the crisis has reinforced the importance of experts and science and hence could counteract the hitherto increase of populist attitudes and science denialism, which have moved from the fringes to the centre of public debates due to social media. We know that populism can hinder science, but can science hinder populism, or at least some of its current forms? We aim to understand the information processing mechanisms that individuals use to justify the acceptance/rejection of expert advice in times of uncertainty caused by a health crisis.
Matrix’s approach focuses on the populism dimensions that are related to its anti-elite, anti-establishment and antiintellectual stances. Denialism relates to attitudes towards science and is also substantiated in some forms of populist discourse and attitudes, e.g. right-wing populist’s denial of climate change or the coronavirus pandemic, but as of yet denialism has not been included as part of the populist attitudes’ repertoire. We should investigate whether denialism is an attitude that combined with other dimensions of populism, results in specific forms of populism (e.g. right-wing), or if it could be actually seen a constitutive feature of populism itself. There are acknowledged similarities in the information processing mechanisms of both populist attitudes and science denial, e.g., a mix of selective attention and confirmation bias mechanisms coupled with the construction of reassuring narratives that tend to strip issues of nuance.
Populism, science denialism, disinformation, attitudes
The current pandemic crisis has exposed the pre-existent fragilities of our globalized, social media era and science denialism and populism have significant negative effects on society and democracy. Matrix intends to improve our current understanding of the links and determinants of populist and science denialism attitudes. Populism promotes the twin beliefs that the common sense of the people is superior to the decision-making processes undertaken by elites and that various elite decision-making groups are out of touch with the people or self-serving. Hence if there are strong populist sentiments within the mood of the public it is highly likely there is a correspondingly high degree of scepticism and mistrust of elites.
Matrix works under the assumption that the Covid-19 pandemic is particular not only for the unprecedented societal effect but also in publicly demonstrating the potential dangers with disavowing expert and scientific evidence. The nature of the crisis has reinforced the importance of experts and science and hence could counteract the hitherto increase of populist attitudes and science denialism, which have moved from the fringes to the centre of public debates due to social media. We know that populism can hinder science, but can science hinder populism, or at least some of its current forms? We aim to understand the information processing mechanisms that individuals use to justify the acceptance/rejection of expert advice in times of uncertainty caused by a health crisis.
Matrix’s approach focuses on the populism dimensions that are related to its anti-elite, anti-establishment and antiintellectual stances. Denialism relates to attitudes towards science and is also substantiated in some forms of populist discourse and attitudes, e.g. right-wing populist’s denial of climate change or the coronavirus pandemic, but as of yet denialism has not been included as part of the populist attitudes’ repertoire. We should investigate whether denialism is an attitude that combined with other dimensions of populism, results in specific forms of populism (e.g. right-wing), or if it could be actually seen a constitutive feature of populism itself. There are acknowledged similarities in the information processing mechanisms of both populist attitudes and science denial, e.g., a mix of selective attention and confirmation bias mechanisms coupled with the construction of reassuring narratives that tend to strip issues of nuance.
