Dr. Arthur Lupia – Political endorsements can affect scientific credibility

The Not Old Better Show – Inside Science Interview Series

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show, Art of Living Interview Series on radio and podcast.  I’m Paul Vogelzang and we have one of the more intersting and timely shows with returning guest and audience favorite in Dr. Arthur Lupia, who I’ll introduce, or re-introduce in just a minute.

But quickly, if you missed any episodes, last week was our 717th episode when, In honor of Memorial Day and the USS Arizona, I spoke with Kevin Kline, executive director of Operation 85 and the USS Arizona.  There are still 85 “unknown” Navy and Marine service members from USS Arizona whose remains are in an unmarked graves.  Two weeks ago I spoke with  Dr. Kristi Tough DeSapri, women’s bone health specialist and founding physician of Bone & Body Women’s Health, to offer interviews and spread awareness of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis (PMO).  Excellent subjects for our Not Old Better Show audience. If you missed those shows, along with any others, you can go back and check them out with my entire back catalog of shows, all free for you, there on our website, NotOld-Better.com. You can Google Not Old Better and get everything you need about us!

Given our political climate, notwithstanding political parties and politicians, we are deluged with political endorsements.  When we stop to think about voting and how we decide. Today’s guest, Dr. Arthur Lupiais the Gerald R Ford Distinguished University Professor at the University of Michigan. His research clarifies how people make decisions and form or break coalitions in complex political environments. Dr. Lupia will help us understand the persuasive nature of endorsements, which are apparently often so persuasive and may even do more harm than good, defeating their impact and damaging credibility. Dr. Lupia will tell us today about  How political endorsements influence voters’ perceptions and decision-making processes during elections, what factors contribute to the credibility of a political endorsement, and will share evidence that when a publication whose credibility comes from science decides to politicize its content, it can damage that credibility. 

 

Let me set the stage briefly:  In 2020, Nature Magazine, a highly respected science publication, not political but subject to influence, endorsed Joe Biden in the US presidential election. A subsequent survey that we’ll talk about today with Dr. Lupia found that viewing the endorsement did not change people’s views of the candidates but caused some to lose confidence in Nature and in US scientists generally.