Motivated reasoning and political ideology fueled political polarization regarding COVID-19 health recommendations in Spanish society: an experimental study

Abstract

COVID-19 arrived in Spain during times of great political turmoil. General elections held in November 2019 resulted in a weak left-leaning coalition government and a highly polarized two-bloc party system; this set the stage for daily political confrontation on how to “best” manage the COVID-19 crisis. This study sought experimental evidence on the factors accounting for political polarization regarding the government’s implementation of vaccination and non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). Participants (147 leftists, 162 rightists) were randomly assigned to a control or two experimental conditions, wherein they were induced to believe that individuals holding favorable or unfavorable attitudes towards NPIs were generally more analytical and open-minded. The extent to which participants believed the information presented in the experimental manipulation was thought to depend on motivated reasoning, on whether such information was congenial to their political ideology and related stance on NPIs. The results revealed that, (1) compared to leftists, rightists held stronger conspiracy beliefs regarding vaccines and COVID-19, religious beliefs, and psychological reactance towards NPIs, and less beliefs in science and open-minded thinking about evidence; (2) leftists and rightists were equally motivated to view individuals of opposite political ideology as less analytical and open-minded, (3) rightists reported less favorable attitudes towards NPIs and lower trust in the government than leftists; (4) motivated reasoning partly accounted for political polarization, widening the gap on attitudes towards NPIs and trust in government between leftists and rightists in the experimental (not control) conditions