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Lessons From the UK's Lockdown: Discourse on Behavioural Science in Times of COVID-19.
Jet G Sanders1, Alessia Tosi1,2, Sandra Obradovic3
1Department of Psychological and Behavioural Sciences, London School of Economics and Political Sciences, London, United Kingdom.
Frontiers in Psychology
|July 5, 2021
Summary
Public trust in behavioural science within UK COVID-19 policy was debated in the media. This study analyzed news and social media to understand factors influencing credibility and trust in evidence-based policy.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Behavioural Science
- Public Policy
Background:
- Behavioural science is increasingly integrated into national governance.
- The UK's COVID-19 response highlighted public and media discourse surrounding behavioural science's role.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify factors influencing public trust and credibility in behavioural science contributions to policy-making.
- To analyze media and public discourse on behavioural science during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Main Methods:
- Corpus linguistics and network analysis of 647 UK newspaper articles.
- Analysis of 2,187 Twitter posts regarding behavioural science and policy.
- Qualitative analysis of 111 news articles with extreme sentiments.
Main Results:
- Mapped key concepts and actors in media discourse, noting changes in salience and sentiment.
- Quantified shifts in sentiment polarity towards behavioural science and its policy applications.
- Identified discourse patterns promoting or undermining trust in behaviourally informed policy.
Conclusions:
- Understanding public discourse is crucial for integrating behavioural science into policy, especially under emergency conditions.
- Media representation significantly shapes public perception of scientific contributions to governance.
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