Greater belief in science predicts mask-wearing behavior during COVID-19

Stosic, Morgan D.; Helwig, Shelby; Ruben, Mollie A.

We investigated whether and how individual's belief in science directly impacts reported face mask wearing behavior in the United States and the mediating role of belief in mask effectiveness in preventing transmission of COVID-19 in this relationship. Mechanical Turk participants (N = 1050) completed measures on reported face mask wearing behavior, general beliefs in science, belief in face mask effectiveness in reducing transmission of COVID-19, and sociodemographic information. We found evidence that greater belief in science predicted greater belief in the effectiveness of face masks reducing the transmission of COVID-19, which in turn predicted more reported face mask wearing behavior in public, controlling for sociodemographic factors. We urge researchers to engage in more open science practices and science education to increase the public's belief in science and the effectiveness of masks in reducing the transmission of COVID-19 in order to increase the frequency of face mask wearing in public.