Anti-scientific Americans the prevalence, origins, and political consequences of anti-intellectualism in the US Matthew Motta

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Motta, Matt, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--Political aspects--United States.

Science.

Science and state--United States.

Science and state.

Intellectualization (Psychology).

National characteristics, American.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Other Title:

Prevalence, origins, and political consequences of anti-intellectualism in the United States

Place of Publication:

New York, NY Oxford University Press [2024]

Summary:

"Anti-Scientific Americans offers new theoretical and data-driven insights into the prevalence, origins, and policy consequences of anti-intellectualism in the U.S. Building on recent theoretical advances, the book begins by conceptualizing anti-intellectualism as the dislike and distrust of scientists, academics, and other experts. It then brings together "micro-level" survey data from cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys spanning six decades, and aggregated "macro-level" data from hundreds of opinion polls dating back to the 1940s, to show that anti-intellectualism is both a pervasive and pernicious presence in American public life. One third of Americans can be thought about as holding anti-intellectual attitudes at any given time, which have become increasingly politicized following the rise of the Tea Party in the early 2010s. Reviving often-overlooked insights from Richard Hofstadter's pioneering (1963) work on the subject, the book also shows that anti-intellectualism both shapes and is shaped by Americans' resentment of the role that experts play in the policymaking process. Correspondingly, anti-intellectualism motivates opposition to evidence-based policies in several areas, including on issues related to climate change, economic policy, and resistance to the advice of public health experts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The book also shows that elected officials respond to increases in public ("macro-level") anti-intellectualism by curtailing experts' influence in the policymaking process. Still, Anti-Scientific Americans concludes on an optimistic note by discussing how what we might learn from this book can help reduce the prevalence and pernicious impact of anti-intellectualism in American political life, and restore Americans' faith in experts"-- Provided by publisher

Contents:

Cover

Anti-Scientific Americans : The Prevalence, Origins, and Political Consequences of Anti-Intellectualism in the US

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Contents

1: Anti-Scientific Americans?

Conceptualizing Anti-Intellectualism

It's Personal: Anti-Intellectualism as an Affective and Group-Based Phenomenon

Expert Dislike and Distrust

Who Is an Expert? Measuring Anti-Expert Attitudes

Experts and Intellectuals: The Eye of the Beholder Approach

The Scientific Community: A More-Narrow Approach

How Anti-Intellectualism Relates to Populism

What's at Stake?

The Plan of This Book

A Word of Caution: Experts Are People Too

2: The Nature and Origins of Anti-Intellectualism

Understanding Anti-Intellectualism: An Affective and Group-Centric Theory

Psychologically Unpacking the Group-Based Origins of Expert Dislike and Distrust

Applying SIT, SCT, and ITT to Anti-Intellectual Attitude Endorsement

The Political Psychological Inputs and Policy-Relevant Outputs of Anti-Intellectual Attitude Endorsement

Static Inputs: Who Holds Anti-Intellectual Attitudes?

Republican Partisan Identity and Symbolic Ideology

A Hostile Legacy

Connecting Anti-Expert Partisan Rhetoric to Public Opinion

Preferences for Limited Government

Religiosity

The Tea Party and the Temporal Dynamics of Asymmetric Polarization

Dynamic Inputs: What Motivates Change in Anti-Intellectualism?

Knowledge of Basic Scientific Facts

Interest in Scientific Research

Experts' Policy Influence: The Bidirectionality Thesis

Testing the Group-Centric Model: A Preview

3: Validating Two Approaches to Measuring Anti-Intellectual Attitude Endorsement in Public-Opinion Surveys

A Refresher: Two Approaches to Measuring Anti-Intellectual Attitude Endorsement

The Public-Opinion Data: An Overview

GSS Time Series Studies (1974-2018)

GSS Panel Studies (2006-2010, 2008-2012, 2010-2014)

CSPP Panel Study (2016)

ANES Pilot Study (2019) and 2020 Time Series Study

Science and Policy Rolling Cross-Sectional Study (2020-2021)

Validating the Two Micro-Level Indicators of Anti-Intellectualism

Content Validation, Part 1: Americans' Definitions of Expertise and How Scientists Contribute to It

Content Validation, Part 2: How Anti-Intellectual Thought Underpins Evaluations of Scientists

Convergent Validation: Assessing the Empirical Overlap between the Two Measures

Conclusion

4: The Prevalence of Anti-Intellectual Attitudes

Macro Anti-Intellectualism Database (1944-2021)

The Problem with Prevalence

A Pervasive Problem or an Overhyped Myth?

A Pluralistic Prevalence Assessment

5: Origin Story Part I: Explaining Between-Person Differences in Anti-Intellectual Attitude Endorsement

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on September 19, 2024)

Other Format:

Print version Motta, Matt. Anti-scientific Americans

ISBN:

9780197788837

0197788831

9780197788844

019778884X

0197788823

9780197788820

OCLC:

1437533816

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license