Of Pathogens and Party Lines: Social Conservatism Positively Associates with COVID-19 Precautions among U.S. Democrats but not Republicans

Consistent with a threat-bias model of ideological differences, social liberals have been shown to be less pathogen-avoidant than tradition-valuing social conservatives. However, particularly when pathogen threat occurs at a societal level, additional factors may influence individual responses. In the current pandemic, the more socially conservative U.S. political party has consistently downplayed the dangers of COVID-19. This creates a natural experiment, allowing examination of the contributions of multiple factors to disease avoidance. We investigated the relationship between social conservatism and COVID-19 precautionary behavior in light of the partisan landscape, exploring whether consumption of, and attitudes toward, different sources of information, as well as differential evaluation of various threats caused by the pandemic—such as direct health costs versus indirect harms to the economy and individual liberties—shape political differences in responses to the pandemic in ways that mask the contributions of social conservatism. In two studies, socially conservative attitudes correlate with self-reported COVID-19 prophylactic behaviors, but only among Democrats. Reflecting larger societal divisions, among Republicans and Independents, the positive relationship between social conservatism and COVID-19 precautions is jointly suppressed by lower trust in scientists, lower trust in liberal and moderate sources, lesser consumption of liberal news media, and greater economic conservatism.