2021, The Chronicle of Higher Education
This article uses reference group theory (Merton), along with Goffman’s theory on the group dynamics of fraud, to explain a variety of puzzling behaviors by Americans during the pandemic: mask and vaccine refusal, vaccination in disguise, and efforts to falsify vital records by omitting COVID-19 as a cause of death.
Keywords: COVID-19, anti-vaxx, mask refusal, vaccine refusal, pandemic, group dynamics, fraud, con artists, reference groups, Goffman, Merton