Attitude extremity and perceived argument diversity exposure in the COVID-19 debate

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between attitude extremity and perceived exposure to diverse political arguments in the debate about COVID-19 health policy measures. Based on a comparative, cross-sectional survey in Germany and Switzerland, we show that extreme attitudes towards wearing face masks inhibit citizens’ perceived diversity of arguments regarding the issue in both countries. This tendency is slightly more pronounced for supporters of mask-wearing than opponents. However, contrary to existing concerns about issue-specific echo chambers, even respondents showing strong attitude extremity still experience exposure to a relatively diverse range of arguments for and against wearing face masks.