Social Psychology and Society
2021. Vol. 12, no. 3, 59–73
doi:10.17759/sps.2021120305
ISSN: 2221-1527 / 2311-7052 (online)
System Justification and Coronavirus Restrictions Support: the Role of Government Trust and Conspiracy Belief
Abstract
General Information
Keywords: system justification, conspiracy belief, trust in the government, support for coronavirus restrictions, coronavirus
Journal rubric: Empirical Research
Article type: scientific article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/sps.2021120305
Funding. The reported study was funded by Russian Science Foundation (RSF), project number 20-18-00142.
Acknowledgements. Authors would like to thank Elena Agadullina for her contribution in the preparation of the article.
For citation: Sarieva I.R., Bogatyreva N.I. System Justification and Coronavirus Restrictions Support: the Role of Government Trust and Conspiracy Belief. Sotsial'naya psikhologiya i obshchestvo = Social Psychology and Society, 2021. Vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 59–73. DOI: 10.17759/sps.2021120305. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)
References
- VOZ Pnevmoniya neizvestnoi etiologii — Kitai [Elektronnyi resurs] [Pneumonia of unknown etymology]. WHO. URL: http://www.who.int/csr/don/05-january-2020-pneumonia-of-unkown-cause-china/ru/ (Accessed: 31.05.2021) (In Russ.).
- Vstupitel’noe slovo General’nogo direktora VOZ na press-brifinge po COVID-19 13 marta 2020 g. [Elektronnyi resurs] [Introductory word from General director of WHO on the COVID-19 press-conference on the 13 of March 2020]. URL: https://www.who.int/ru/director-general/ speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-mission-briefing-on-covid-19--- 13-march-2020 (Accessed: 31.05.2021). (In Russ.).
- Vstupitel’noe slovo General’nogo direktora na press brifinge po COVID-19 11 marta 2020 g. [Elektronnyi resurs] [Introductory word from General director of WHO on the COVID-19 press-conference on the 11 of March 2020]. URL: https://www.who.int/ru/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19--- 11-march-2020 (Accessed: 31.05.2021). (In Russ.).
- Gulevich O.A., Sarieva I.R. Sotsial’nye verovaniya, politicheskoe doverie i gotovnost’ k politicheskomu povedeniyu: sravnenie Rossii i Ukrain. [Social beliefs, political trust, and readiness for political behavior: the comparison of Russia and Ukraine]. Sotsial’naya psikhologiya i obshchestvo = Social psychology and society, 2020. Vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 74—92. DOI:10.17759/sps.2020110205 (In Russ.).
- Desyat’ kitaiskikh gorodov priostanovili transportnoe soobshchenie [Elektronnyi resurs] [Ten Chinese cities stopped transport connections] — Gazeta.Ru| Novosti. URL: https://www.gazeta.ru/ social/news/2020/01/24/n_13953176.shtml (Accessed: 31.05.2021). (In Russ.).
- Dolya imeyushchikh zagranpasporta rossiyan ostalas’ na urovne 28% [Elektronnyi resurs] [The share of Russians who own an international passport is left at 28%]. Interfax.ru. URL: https://www. interfax.ru/russia/505606 (Accessed: 31.05.2021). (In Russ.).
- Koronavirus: vaktsina i proiskhozhdenie virusa [Elektronnyi resurs] [Coronavirus: vaccine and the origin of virus]. URL: https://www.levada.ru/2021/03/01/koronavirus-vaktsina-i-proishozhdenie-virusa/ (Accessed: 31.05.2021). (In Russ.).
- Koronavirus: statistika [Elektronnyi resurs] [Coronavirus: statistics]. URL: https://yandex. ru/covid19/stat (Accessed: 31.05.2021). (In Russ.).
- Koronavirus: strakh i zanyatost’ [Elektronnyi resurs] [Coronavirus: fear and employment]. URL: https://www.levada.ru/2020/07/31/koronavirus-strah-i-zanyatost/ (Accessed: 31.05.2021). (In Russ.).
- Mery bor’by s rasprostraneniem COVID-19 v raznykh stranakh [Elektronnyi resurs] [Measures against COVID-19 in different countries]. RIA Novosti, 31.12.2020. URL: https://ria. ru/20201231/covid-19-1591420327.html (Accessed: 31.05.2021). (In Russ.).
- Mery po bor’be s pandemiei koronavirusa [Elektronnyi resurs] [Measures against coronavirus pandemic]. Levada-Tsentr. URL: https://www.levada.ru/2020/06/08/mery-po-borbe-s-pandemiej-koronavirusa/ (Accessed: 31.05.2021). (In Russ.).
- Odobrenie institutov vlasti [Elektronnyi resurs] [Approval of government institutions]. URL: https://www.levada.ru/2020/11/27/odobrenie-institutov-vlasti-28/ (Accessed: 31.05.2021). (In Russ.).
- Tatarko A.N. Mezhlichnostnoe doverie kak faktor sotsial’no-ekonomicheskogo razvitiy. [Mechanism of trust as a factor of social and economic development]. Sotsial’naya psikhologiya i obshchestvo = Social psychology and society, 2014. Vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 28—41. (In Russ.).
- Abalakina-Paap M. et al. Beliefs in Conspiracies. Political Psychology, 1999. Vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 637—647.
- Conspiracy beliefs reduce the following of government coronavirus guidance [Elektronnyi resurs]| University of Oxfor]. URL: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-05-22-conspiracy-beliefs-reduces-following-government-coronavirus-guidance (Accessed: 31.05.2021).
- Douglas K.M. et al. Understanding Conspiracy Theories. Political Psychology, 2019. Vol. 40, no. S1, pp. 3—35.
- Douglas K.M., Sutton R.M., Cichocka A. The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2017. Vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 538—542.
- Hamm J.A., Smidt C., Mayer R.C. Understanding the psychological nature and mechanisms of political trust. PLOS ONE, 2019. Vol. 14, no. 5, pp. e0215835.
- Hayes A.F. Partial, conditional, and moderated moderated mediation: Quantification, inference, and interpretation. Communication Monographs, 2018. Vol. 85, no. 1, pp. 4—40.
- Ivanov A., Sarieva I., Agadullina E.R. How do Russians perceive and justify the status quo: insights of the System Justification scales adaptation. Frontiers in Psychology. 2020. Vol. (manuscript in preparation).
- Jost J.T. et al. Belief in a just God (and a just society): A system justification perspective on religious ideology. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 2014. Vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 56—81.
- Jost J.T., Banaji M.R. The role of stereotyping in system-justification and the production of false consciousness. British Journal of Social Psychology, 1994. Vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 1—27.
- Jost J.T., Hunyady O. Antecedents and Consequences of System-Justifying Ideologies. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2005. Vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 260—265.
- Karić T., Međedović J. Covid-19 conspiracy beliefs and containment-related behaviour: The role of political trust. Personality and Individual Differences, 2021. Vol. 175, pp. 110697.
- Larson H.J. The biggest pandemic risk? Viral misinformation. Nature, 2018. Vol. 562, no. 7727, pp. 309—309.
- Many Americans continue to experience mental health difficulties as pandemic enters second year. Pew Research Center [Elektronnyi resurs]. URL: https://www.pewresearch.org/ fact-tank/2021/03/16/many-americans-continue-to-experience-mental-health-difficulties-as-pandemic-enters-second-year/ (Accessed: 31.05.2021).
- Mitchell A. et al. Three Months In, Many Americans See Exaggeration, Conspiracy Theories and Partisanship in COVID-19 News. Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project [Elektronnyi resurs]. URL: https://www.journalism.org/2020/06/29/three-months-in-many-americans-see-exaggeration-conspiracy-theories-and-partisanship-in-covid-19-news/ (Accessed: 31.05.2021).
- Oksanen A. et al. Regulation and Trust: 3-Month Follow-up Study on COVID-19 Mortality in 25 European Countries. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 2020. Vol. 6, no. 2, pp. e19218.
- Osborne D. et al. Protesting to challenge or defend the system? A system justification perspective on collective action. European Journal of Social Psychology, 2019. Vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 244—269.
- Public opinion in the time of COVID-19. Public opinion in the time of COVID-19 [Elektronnyi resurs]. URL: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/at-your-service/en/be-heard/eurobarometer/ public-opinion-in-the-time-of-covid-19 (Accessed: 31.05.2021).
- Pummerer L. et al. Conspiracy Theories and Their Societal Effects During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2021. pp. 194855062110002.
- Putnam R D. Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon & Schuster, 2000. 544 p.
- Rothstein B., Stolle D. The State and Social Capital: An Institutional Theory of Generalized Trust. Comparative Politics, 2008. Vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 441—459.
- Scholz J.T., Lubell M. Trust and Taxpaying: Testing the Heuristic Approach to Collective Action. American Journal of Political Science, 1998. Vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 398.
- Shepherd S., Kay A.C. On the perpetuation of ignorance: System dependence, system justification, and the motivated avoidance of sociopolitical information Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2012. Vol. 102, no. 2, pp. 264—280.
- Sonderskov K.M. Does Generalized Social Trust Lead to Associational Membership? Unravelling a Bowl of Well-Tossed Spaghetti. European Sociological Review, 2011. Vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 419—434.
- Soveri A. et al. Unwillingness to engage in behaviors that protect against COVID-19: the role of conspiracy beliefs, trust, and endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine. BMC Public Health, 2021. Vol. 21, no. 1, p. 684.
- Tan X. et al. The Effects of General System Justification on Corruption Perception and Intent. Frontiers in Psychology, 2016. Vol. 7, p. 1107.
- Uslaner E.M. The moral foundations of trust. E M. Uslaner, Cambridge University Press, 2002. 298 p.
- Van Deth J.W. Interesting but irrelevant: Social capital and the saliency of politics in Western Europe. European Journal of Political Research, 2000. Vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 115—147.
- Vargas-Salfate S. et al. A Comparison of Social Dominance Theory and System Justification: The Role of Social Status in 19 Nations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2018. Vol. 44, no. 7, pp. 1060—1076.
- Vasilopoulos P., Brouard S. System Justification and Affective Responses to Terrorism: Evidence from the November 2015 Paris Attacks. Political Psychology, 2020. Vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 569— 586.
- Walch C. Evacuation ahead of natural disasters: Evidence from cyclone Phailin in India and typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Geo: Geography and Environment, 2018. Vol. 5, no. 1, pp. e00051.
- Yaqub O. et al. Attitudes to vaccination: A critical review. Social Science & Medicine, 2014. Vol. 112, pp. 1—11.
- Zmerli S., Meer T. van der Handbook on Political Trust. S. Zmerli, T. van der Meer, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017. 560 p.
Information About the Authors
Metrics
Web Views
Whole time: 768
Previous month: 22
Current month: 6
PDF Downloads
Whole time: 458
Previous month: 6
Current month: 0
Total
Whole time: 1226
Previous month: 28
Current month: 6