Between Contestation and Conformism: Cluster Analysis of the Poles’ Attitudes During the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The aim of the article is to identify the factors that contribute to the differentiation of attitudes towards the coronavirus pandemic in three areas: 1) course of the pandemic; 2) evaluation of the actions of various actors in the fight against the pandemic; and 3) assessment of the restrictions introduced during the pandemic. The analysis is based on a survey conducted among the Polish population. A hierarchical cluster analysis procedure was conducted on the 15 variables using Ward’s method. We distinguished five groups: 1) dissenters, 2) government’s critics, 3) conformists, 4) critical conformists and 5) bystanders. Based on the cluster analysis we argue that: various models of social compliance with restrictions and of crisis management can be identified during pandemic, pandemic followed different trajectories for different groups and was differently experienced, the credibility of the statistics is an important element in shaping attitudes towards the pandemic.