| NSF Org: |
SES Division of Social and Economic Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | June 1, 2020 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 1, 2020 |
| Award Number: | 2029498 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Robert O'Connor
roconnor@nsf.gov (703)292-7263 SES Division of Social and Economic Sciences SBE Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences |
| Start Date: | June 1, 2020 |
| End Date: | May 31, 2021 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $192,235.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $192,235.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
341 PINE TREE RD ITHACA NY US 14850-2820 (607)255-5014 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
Mann Library, Room 465 Ithaca NY US 14853-4301 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
Decision, Risk & Mgmt Sci, Social Psychology |
| Primary Program Source: |
010N2021DB R&RA CARES Act DEFC N |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.075 |
ABSTRACT
Research has found that disruptive social events can lead to increased social bias toward outgroup members. This research examines this relationship in the context of the COVID-19 crisis in the United States, which has adversely affected the health and economic well-being of millions of Americans. Although numerous incidents of bias directed toward immigrants and people of Asian descent have been reported since the outbreak began, research is needed to understand the extent of this bias and the factors that produce it. This research will address this need, by analyzing both existing as well as new survey data from nationally representative samples of Americans collected throughout much of 2020, as the crisis emerged and continues to evolve. The results will provide insights into how COVID-19 is affecting social attitudes in the United States, and more generally, into the ways that diverse societies respond to large-scale disruptions that threaten their way of life.
This research will test the hypothesis that the relationship between COVID-19 risk perceptions and social bias may be less straightforward than existing theory and research suggest, and that this relationship may vary as a function of local threat conditions, type of perceived risk (health vs. economic), and personal characteristics. The research team analyzes public opinion data from leading survey organizations to test this hypothesis. In one component of the research, the team collects new data from a representative sample of the United States public to measure attitudes toward immigration and toward members of different racial and ethnic groups, alongside attitudes about COVID-19. They repeat this survey throughout the spring, summer, and fall of 2020 to study how these attitudes and their relationship may change in real time. In a second component of the research, they analyze existing survey data on COVID-19 attitudes that have been collected since February 2020. By combining new data with existing data, they are building a comprehensive dataset featuring thousands of survey interviews on COVID-19 attitudes and social bias spanning most of 2020. This research will generate robust estimates of COVID-19 attitudes and social bias, and their degree of stability versus change, as the crisis continues to unfold. By revealing where and when social bias is most prevalent, this research will help diverse societies such as the United States protect their residents against negative treatment the next time a similar crisis emerges, as well as during less severe incidents of disruption and insecurity.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This project combined survey data from over 1.3 million U.S. respondents who were interviewed about their coronavirus concerns and perceptions between February 2020 and June 2021. This large sample size and time span makes it possible to analyze stability versus change in attitudes among different groups. For example, the data show that compared to Whites, racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. expressed more concern about exposure to the coronavirus throughout much of this time period, reflecting the larger toll that the coronavirus has had on communities of color in the U.S. Interestingly, the data further showed that the public generally underestimated the coronavirus concerns of different groups in 2020, although this pattern varied in important ways by group (e.g., Asians? concerns were underestimated the most, while the public was more accurate when estimating the concerns of African Americans). The data also revealed important insights about social bias related to the pandemic. For example, despite the high-profile hate crimes that targeted members of the Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities in 2020 and 2021, the public?s awareness of anti-Asian bias measured in March 2021 did not differ from June 2020, suggesting that the public was not learning from these events in the way we would expect. Beyond providing insights such as these, we have sent all project data to be archived at the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, the world?s largest archive of public opinion data, for use by researchers, journalists, and any member of the public interested in understanding coronavirus attitudes and risk perceptions.
In terms of intellectual merit, the project highlights the importance of not only measuring individuals? personal concerns about the pandemic, but also their perceptions of others? concerns. As a collective health problem, the pandemic requires diverse groups to work together, but it can be difficult to coordinate, or to address the needs of those who are most affected, if we do not understand each other?s perspectives. Past research has examined similar misperceptions of concerns about the environment, finding that despite expressing some of the highest levels of environmental concern, minority and lower-income groups in the U.S. are misperceived as being low in environmental concern. The current research contributes by extending this past work into the domain of the coronavirus pandemic.
In terms of broader impacts, by analyzing data from over 1.3 million survey interviews, the project is better able to represent the attitudes of diverse groups in the U.S. compared to the typical survey research project. As the demographics of the country change, it is critically important to understand where groups hold similar perspectives, and where they differ. In addition, our data on awareness of anti-Asian bias during the pandemic speak directly to a serious social problem affecting the lives of millions of Americans. If large segments of the public are unaware of the bias that people face because of their actual or perceived identities, efforts to address this bias may be slowed or not prioritized.
Last Modified: 09/29/2021
Modified by: Jonathon P Schuldt
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