Believing in Blame: Moral and Ideological Contours of COVID-19 Scapegoating and Perceptions of Anti-Asian Hate

• In Event: Understanding and Addressing Hate Crimes and Discrimination

Abstract

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States (US) has seen a surge of anti-Asian discrimination and hate crimes, thought to be motivated by pandemic scapegoating narratives (e.g., the belief that Asian Americans are to blame for the pandemic and related harms). Understanding what makes a person susceptible to these narratives is an important step toward mitigating anti-Asian hate in the US, as well as avoiding similar scapegoating in the wake of future public health crises. This study draws on original survey data based on a nationally representative sample of 2,000 US adults to explore the moral intuitions and ideological frameworks that predict acceptance of pandemic scapegoating narratives, as well as the perception that anti-Asian hate crime in the US is a problem. Results show that both (a) moral foundations and (b) Christian nationalism are strong predictors of the extent to which people accept pandemic scapegoating narratives and problematize of anti-Asian hate, even after adjusting for political, religious, and sociodemographic characteristics. Implications for future scholarship on scapegoating and hate crime are discussed.

Author

• Christopher Han-Fai Seto, Purdue University