A cultural theory of expertise: styles of thought in attitudes, beliefs, and expectations regarding the COVID-19 pandemic

This study analyzes attitudes toward the COVID-19 pandemic by identifying correlations among beliefs, fears, expectations, and trust that reveal distinct styles of thought. Using two online surveys (total n=5990) conducted in Argentina during isolation regulations, the authors find three equally distributed styles of thought aligned with beliefs about the virus’s origin: natural origin, accidental lab leak, and intentional release. Each style coherently aligns with views on vaccines, science, expertise, and policy. The authors propose a cultural theory of expertise, arguing that how people locate knowledge authority—trusting external experts, relying only on self, or adopting a nihilistic stance—shapes pandemic-related attitudes. They term these styles open-to-expertise, self-expertise-only, and nihilist.