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
Follow PsyPost on Google News

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

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
Epistemic mistrust and dogmatism predict preference for authoritarian-looking leaders
Authoritarianism

Epistemic mistrust and dogmatism predict preference for authoritarian-looking leaders

June 20, 2025

A new study suggests that the way people learn to trust others early in life can shape their political ideology and preference for strong, dominant leaders—though not directly, but through dogmatic thinking and broader political attitudes.

Read moreDetails
Individual traits, not environment, predict gun violence among gun-carrying youth
Political Psychology

Republican women and Democratic men often break with party lines on gun policy

June 19, 2025

New research shows that Americans’ views on gun policy are shaped by the intersection of gender and partisanship, with Republican women and Democratic men often expressing positions that differ from those typically associated with their party.

Read moreDetails
Troubling study shows “politics can trump truth” to a surprising degree, regardless of education or analytical ability
Donald Trump

Racial insecurity helped shield Trump from Republican backlash after Capitol riot, study suggests

June 18, 2025

Despite widespread condemnation of the January 6th attack, many white Republicans remained loyal to Trump—especially those who perceived anti-white discrimination. A new study shows how racial status threat can protect political leaders from the consequences of norm violations.

Read moreDetails
Some dark personality traits may help buffer against depression, new psychology research suggests
COVID-19

COVID-19 coverage linked to rise in anti-Asian sentiment, especially among Trump supporters

June 17, 2025

Americans became less favorable toward Asians as COVID-19 spread and news coverage intensified, according to a new study. The drop was strongest among Trump supporters, highlighting how political rhetoric and fear shaped public opinion during the pandemic.

Read moreDetails
Poor sleep may shrink brain regions vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease, study suggests
Political Psychology

Christian nationalists tend to imagine God as benevolent, angry over sins, and engaged

June 14, 2025

Christians who believe God is benevolent, engaged, and angered by sin are more likely to support religious nationalism, according to a new study. This worldview was also associated with conspiracy mentality and xenophobic attitudes.

Read moreDetails
Fear predicts authoritarian attitudes across cultures, with conservatives most affected
Authoritarianism

Fear predicts authoritarian attitudes across cultures, with conservatives most affected

June 13, 2025

A sweeping study of over 84,000 people across 59 countries found that individuals who feel threatened by crime, poverty, or instability are more likely to support authoritarian governance—especially in Western nations and among politically right-leaning individuals.

Read moreDetails
New research links certain types of narcissism to anti-immigrant attitudes
Narcissism

New research links certain types of narcissism to anti-immigrant attitudes

June 13, 2025

New research published in Behavioral Sciences shows that certain narcissistic traits are linked to anti-immigrant attitudes through competitive worldviews and ideological beliefs, highlighting the role of personality in shaping how people view immigrants and social hierarchies.

Read moreDetails

SUBSCRIBE

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

STAY CONNECTED

LATEST

Exposure to heavy metals is associated with higher likelihood of ADHD diagnosis

Eye-tracking study shows people fixate longer on female aggressors than male ones

Romantic breakups follow a two-stage decline that begins years before the split, study finds

Believing “news will find me” is linked to sharing fake news, study finds

A common parasite not only invades the brain — it can also decapitate human sperm

Almost all unmarried pregant women say that the fetus resembles the father, study finds

New neuroscience research reveals brain antioxidant deficit in depression

Scientists uncover kidney-to-brain route for Parkinson’s-related protein spread

         
       
  • 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