The Influence of News Consumption Habits and Dispositional Traits on Trust in Medical Scientists

Meng Zhen Larsen, Michael R. Haupt, Tiana McMann, Raphael E. Cuomo and Tim K. Mackey ()
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Meng Zhen Larsen: Global Health Policy and Data Institute, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
Michael R. Haupt: Global Health Policy and Data Institute, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
Tiana McMann: Global Health Policy and Data Institute, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
Raphael E. Cuomo: Global Health Policy and Data Institute, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
Tim K. Mackey: Global Health Policy and Data Institute, San Diego, CA 92123, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: Public trust in medical institutions is essential for ensuring compliance with medical directives. However, the politicization of public health issues and the polarized nature of major news outlets suggest that partisanship and news consumption habits can influence medical trust. This study employed a survey with 858 participants and used regression analysis to assesses how news consumption habits and information assessment traits (IATs) influence trust in medical scientists. IATs included were conscientiousness, openness, need for cognitive closure (NFCC), and cognitive reflective thinking (CRT). News sources were classified on the basis of factuality and political bias. Initially, readership of liberally biased news was positively associated with medical trust ( p < 0.05). However, this association disappeared when controlling for the news source’s factuality ( p = 0.28), while CRT ( p < 0.05) was positively associated with medical trust. When controlling for conservatively biased news sources, factuality of the news source ( p < 0.05) and NFCC ( p < 0.05) were positively associated with medical trust. While partisan media bias may influence medical trust, these results suggest that those who have higher abilities to assess information and who prefer more credible news sources have a greater trust in medical scientists.

Keywords: news consumption habits; dispositional traits; trust in medical institutions; misinformation; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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