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.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (340 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2024]

Summary:

In Anti-Scientific Americans, Matthew Motta offers new theoretical and data-driven insights into the prevalence, origins, and policy consequences of anti-intellectualism in the US. He 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. A methodologically rigorous and empirically powerful account of one the most profound forces in American politics, this book will be of interest to scholars and students throughout the social sciences interested in why experts generate such resentment.

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

Analytical Strategy: Detecting Between-Person Differences in Anti-Intellectual Attitude Endorsement

Measures and Data

Model Input Stability Assessment

Results

Partisan Identity

Ideology

Limited-Government Attitudes

Reverse Causality Assessment

"Taxed Enough by Academics?" Attitude Polarization and the Rise of the Tea Party

6: Origin Story Part II: Change in Anti-Intellectual Attitude Endorsement

Analytical Strategy

Data and Measures

Exploring the Effects of Expert Contact in Higher-Educational Settings

7: The Bidirectionality Thesis: Hofstadter's Forgotten Prediction

Testing the Bidirectionality Thesis

Data

Measuring General Expert Policy Role Orientations

8: Anti-Intellectualism and Its Pernicious Policy Consequences.

Anti-Intellectualism and the Rejection of Evidence-Based Policy

Climate Science

Public Health

Economics

Elite Responsiveness to Public Anti-Intellectualism

Measuring Expert Influence in the Policymaking Process

Robustness Checks

9: What's Next, Doc?

Just Asking Questions: Emerging Strains of Anti-Intellectualism

Toward a Unified Approach for Improving Trust in Experts

Restoring Faith in Experts: A Unified Approach

A Brief Note on System-Level Reforms

Is American Anti-Intellectualism Exceptional?

Limitations and Directions for Future Research

It's Personal: Concluding Reflections on the State of Anti-Intellectual Attitude Endorsement in the United States

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

Supplementary Materials for Chapter 3

Technical Compendium to Chapter Three

Supplementary Materials for Chapter 4

Supplementary Materials for Chapter 5

Variable Measurement

Supplementary Materials for Chapter 6

Science Knowledge Test (Question Wording and Coding Protocol)

Supplementary Materials for Chapter 7

Supplementary Materials for Chapter 8

References

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-19-778882-3

OCLC:

1437533816