We identify several methodological & conceptual factors—in particular, an overreliance on self-reports—that likely inflated, or even wholly created, the apparent associations between disgust sensitivity, ideology, & pandemic response

Ruisch, Benjamin, Shelby Boggs, Courtney Moore, Javier G. Samayoa, Jesse T. Ladanyi, Steffen Steinert, and Russell Fazio. 2021. “Investigating the Conservatism-disgust Paradox in Reactions to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Critical Reexamination of the Interrelations Between Political Ideology, Disgust Sensitivity, and Pandemic Response.” PsyArXiv. May 11. doi:10.31234/osf.io/yn23v

Abstract: Research has documented robust associations between greater disgust sensitivity and (1) concern about disease, and (2) political conservatism. However, the COVID-19 disease pandemic raised challenging questions about these associations. In particular, why have conservatives—despite their greater disgust sensitivity—exhibited less concern about the pandemic? Here, we aim to resolve this “conservatism-disgust paradox” and address several outstanding theoretical questions regarding the interrelations between disgust sensitivity, ideology, and pandemic response. In four studies (N=1,764), we identify several methodological and conceptual factors—in particular, an overreliance on self-report measures—that likely inflated, or even wholly created, the apparent associations between these constructs. Using non-self-report measures, we find that disgust sensitivity is a far less potent predictor of disease avoidance than is typically believed, and that ideological differences in disgust sensitivity may be limited to self-report measures. These findings help resolve this paradox, while providing important insight into the nature of these associations.