Conservatives' sensitivity to pandemic threat suppressed by distrust of science, media

(University of California - Los Angeles) Researchers have long documented a link between threat sensitivity and social conservatism. However, a new UCLA study found Republicans' and independents' inclinations to embrace protective behaviors (mask-wearing, physical distancing, sanitizing) in response to the COVID-19 threat in proportion to their degree of conservatism were overruled by distrust in science and liberal-moderate info sources, as well as a focus on negative economic impacts of lockdo...