HCL+PrioR mtg. Benjamin Lewis & Bridget Schippers. Thursday 3/5 12:30pm-2:00pm ET
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Antonio Alonso Arechar
Feb 27, 2026, 2:40:01 PM (14 days ago) Feb 27
to Human Cooperation Lab
Good afternoon everyone,
Lab meeting will be hybrid, with a zoom link (https://mit.zoom.us/j/91655448125) and in person in the conference room on the 15th floor of E94 (1579; 245 First Street).
Best regards,
Antonio
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Bridget Schippers & Benjamin Lewis will present this Thursday (3/5 12:30pm-2:00pm ET; see blurb below).
Best regards,
Antonio
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Trust Without Persuasion: Effects of Elite Attribution in a High-Consensus Health Policy Domain
Public debates about food additives and ultra-processed foods are growing, yet little is known about how Americans form opinions on these low-salience policies or how elite cues shape these attitudes. Using a nationally matched YouGov survey and a preregistered survey experiment, we test whether attributing identical health messages to Michelle Obama, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., both elites, or no elite affects support for Make America Healthy Again style food additive regulations and trust in these figures. Descriptive evidence shows broad bipartisan support for regulatory proposals but sharp partisan divides in elite trust. Experimentally, elite attribution produces limited changes in policy attitudes but significant shifts in trust, with respondents’ reactions strongly conditioned by party affiliation. Open-ended responses further highlight concerns about RFK Jr. as a central theme among opponents. Our findings show that in low-polarization health domains, elite cues shape perceptions of messengers more than opinions on policy.
Public debates about food additives and ultra-processed foods are growing, yet little is known about how Americans form opinions on these low-salience policies or how elite cues shape these attitudes. Using a nationally matched YouGov survey and a preregistered survey experiment, we test whether attributing identical health messages to Michelle Obama, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., both elites, or no elite affects support for Make America Healthy Again style food additive regulations and trust in these figures. Descriptive evidence shows broad bipartisan support for regulatory proposals but sharp partisan divides in elite trust. Experimentally, elite attribution produces limited changes in policy attitudes but significant shifts in trust, with respondents’ reactions strongly conditioned by party affiliation. Open-ended responses further highlight concerns about RFK Jr. as a central theme among opponents. Our findings show that in low-polarization health domains, elite cues shape perceptions of messengers more than opinions on policy.
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