Reflexive Doubt In Expert Systems: Mask Compliance During COVID-19

As COVID-19 progresses, expert systems such as the CDC and WHO continually disseminate information about its spread. Municipal, state, and federal leaders have vacillated in their messaging about mask-wear, a key protection measure to minimize transmission. Some consumers have interpreted this lack of clarity and transparency as indecisiveness, thereby instilling distrust in expert systems. To a large extent, consumers' misgivings and subsequent behaviors center on personal and societal rights and responsibilities. Drawing on consumer research on institutional theory, this article examines current public discourse regarding recommended and mandated mask-wear as a means of personal protection for U.S. consumers. This work contributes to the literature on expert systems and ideological structures that shape consumer choice and compliance/non-compliance in response to regulatory mandates.<p></p>