Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Neuroscience
  • About
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive COVID-19

Watching Anthony Fauci on Fox News makes people more willing to engage in pandemic reducing behaviors, study finds

by Eric W. Dolan
March 25, 2021
in COVID-19, Political Psychology
Anthony Fauci during an appearance on the Fox News Channel.

Anthony Fauci during an appearance on the Fox News Channel.

Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
Stay on top of the latest psychology findings: Subscribe now!

How warmly or coldly people feel toward scientists is associated with their compliance with measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to new research published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology. The study also found evidence that medical experts such as Anthony Fauci can help motivate people to maintain social distance from others and use disinfectant products amid the pandemic.

Many scientists became recognizable public figures following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, and the researchers behind the current study were interested in learning more about the impact of this new phenomenon.

“I had never seen so many scientists go on television before. Now they were there all the time. Some of them were pretty likeable and others not so much,” said study author Carmen Sanchez, an assistant professor at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois.

“For example, on the one extreme, people were making Fauci socks, eating Fauci donuts, and singing songs about him (Randy Rainbow has a really funny song about him). This made me curious. Maybe people listen to scientists, not because of how knowledgeable they are or their political affiliation, but because of how much we like them. The more we like them, the more we listen to them about stuff they are knowledgeable about, regardless of how much we know or our political affiliation.”

In an initial survey of 415 individuals, the researchers found that those with warmer feelings towards scientists were more concerned about COVID-19 and engaged in greater preventative behaviors, such as social distancing. This was true even after controlling for cognitive ability, education, gender, income, and political ideology.

“A lot of people speculated that people were not engaging in pandemic reducing behaviors because of their political affiliation. This may be the case. But what we are showing here is that how people feel towards scientists plays a much larger role in people’s intended behaviors. When people do not like scientists, or they show an anti-scientists bias, they are less likely to listen to their advice,” Sanchez told PsyPost.

In two additional studies, the researchers examined the impact of watching Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The participants were randomly assigned to either view a short video featuring Fauci or — in the control condition — view a short video of a burning log.

In one study, Fauci talked about the importance of “flattening the curve” with COVID-19 mitigation efforts on CNBC. In the other, Fauci discussed the lack of scientific evidence behind hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 on Fox News.

The researchers found that those who held more optimistic views about hydroxychloroquine were less likely to engage in preventative behaviors and tended to be less warm toward scientists.

Surprisingly, watching Fauci did not appear to change attitudes about hydroxychloroquine. But the researchers found that watching Fauci on Fox News did lead people to commit to engaging in more preventative COVID‐19 behaviors, indicating that prominent scientists can sway public behavior.

“Positive feelings towards scientists, rather than political attitudes or knowledge, relate to people’s willingness to engage in pandemic reducing behaviors,” Sanchez told PsyPost. “But just because some people do not like scientists, all is not lost. You can change people’s minds about scientists. You can do this by having scientists engage in public outreach. Put them on television. Invite them to explain to people what is going on with COVID.”

Watching Fauci talk about the importance of COVID-19 mitigation efforts on CNBC, however, did not appear to significantly impact intentions to engage in preventative COVID‐19 behaviors. “For whatever reason, he was only effective at changing intended behaviors on Fox News,” Sanchez said. “It could have been a lot of things that led to this happening. It might have been the topic he discussed on Fox News versus CNBC, or it could be the network itself. We should try to figure out the platform where scientists can have the biggest impact.”

The study, “The anti‐scientists bias: The role of feelings about scientists in COVID‐19 attitudes and behaviors“, was authored by Carmen Sanchez and David Dunning.

TweetSendScanShareSendPin2ShareShareShareShareShare

RELATED

New study suggests Donald Trump’s “fake news” attacks are backfiring
Political Psychology

Scientists are uncovering more and more unsettling facts about our politics

July 5, 2025

Why has politics become so personal? The answers may lie in our minds. These 13 studies from the new science of political behavior reveal the hidden psychological forces—from personality to primal fear—that are driving us further apart.

Read moreDetails
These common sounds can impair your learning, according to new psychology research
Political Psychology

Despite political tensions, belief in an impending U.S. civil war remains low

July 4, 2025

A new national survey finds that only a small fraction of Americans believe civil war is likely or necessary.

Read moreDetails
Racial and religious differences help explain why unmarried voters lean Democrat
Political Psychology

Student loan debt doesn’t deter civic engagement — it may actually drive it, new research suggests

July 3, 2025

Americans with student loan debt are more likely to vote and engage in political activities than those without debt, likely because they see government as responsible and capable of addressing their financial burden through policy change.

Read moreDetails
Scientists just uncovered a surprising illusion in how we remember time
Mental Health

New research suggests the conservative mental health advantage is a myth

July 3, 2025

Do conservatives really have better mental well-being than liberals? A new study suggests the answer depends entirely on how you ask. The well-known ideological gap disappears when "mental health" is replaced with the less-stigmatized phrase "overall mood."

Read moreDetails
New psychology study sheds light on mysterious “feelings of presence” during isolation
COVID-19

Frequent dreams and nightmares surged worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic

July 1, 2025

An international study of over 15,000 adults across 16 countries found that dream recall and nightmares became more common during the pandemic, with sleep duration, age, and gender all playing a role in how often people experienced them.

Read moreDetails
New psychology study sheds light on mysterious “feelings of presence” during isolation
Political Psychology

People who think “everyone agrees with me” are more likely to support populism

July 1, 2025

People who wrongly believe that most others share their political views are more likely to support populist ideas, according to a new study. These false beliefs can erode trust in democratic institutions and fuel resentment toward political elites.

Read moreDetails
Radical leaders inspire stronger devotion because they make followers feel significant, study finds
Political Psychology

Radical leaders inspire stronger devotion because they make followers feel significant, study finds

June 28, 2025

A new study finds that voters are more motivated by radical political leaders than moderates, because supporting bold causes makes them feel personally significant—driving greater activism, sacrifice, and long-term engagement across elections in the United States and Poland.

Read moreDetails
Political ambivalence has a surprising relationship with support for violence
Authoritarianism

New study sheds light on the psychological roots of collective violence

June 21, 2025

A new study from Lebanon finds that people with authoritarian beliefs tend to oppose violence against political leaders, while those high in social dominance orientation are more likely to support violence against rival group members.

Read moreDetails

SUBSCRIBE

Go Ad-Free! Click here to subscribe to PsyPost and support independent science journalism!

STAY CONNECTED

LATEST

Scientists are uncovering more and more unsettling facts about our politics

People with depression face significantly greater social and health-related challenges

Stress disrupts gut and brain barriers by reducing key microbial metabolites, study finds

New research reveals hidden biases in AI’s moral advice

7 subtle signs you are being love bombed—and how to slow things down before you get hurt

A simple breathing exercise enhances emotional control, new research suggests

Despite political tensions, belief in an impending U.S. civil war remains low

Girls are better than boys at detecting their own ADHD symptoms

         
       
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
[Do not sell my information]

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy