Abstract
Understanding the predictors of belief in COVID-related conspiracy theories and willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 may aid the resolution of current and future pandemics. We investigate how psychological and cognitive characteristics influence general conspiracy mentality and COVID-related conspiracy theories. A cross-sectional study was conducted based on data from an online survey of a sample of Czech university students (n = 866) collected in January 2021, using multivariate linear regression and mediation analysis. Sixteen percent of respondents believed that COVID-19 is a hoax, and 17% believed that COVID-19 was intentionally created by humans. Seven percent of the variance of the hoax theory and 10% of the variance of the creation theory was explained by (in descending order of relevance) low cognitive reflection, low digital health literacy, high experience with dissociation and, to some extent, high bullshit receptivity. Belief in COVID-related conspiracy theories depended less on psychological and cognitive variables compared to conspiracy mentality (16% of the variance explained). The effect of digital health literacy on belief in COVID-related theories was moderated by cognitive reflection. Belief in conspiracy theories related to COVID-19 was influenced by experience with dissociation, cognitive reflection, digital health literacy and bullshit receptivity.
Highlights
COVID-19 is a hoax as being higher than 50%, the mean estimated probability of COVID-19 being a hoax was 16.67%, 149 students (17.21%) considered the probability that COVID-19 was intentionally created by humans to be higher than 50% and the mean estimate was
The results indicate that while most of the effect of dissociation and bullshit receptivity on beliefs in COVID-related conspiracy theories is mediated by conspiracy mentality, cognitive reflection is affecting COVID-related conspiracy beliefs through its link to conspiracy mentality as well as directly
Belief in conspiracy theories about coronavirus is an important predictor of nonadherence to the measures to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic [3,5]
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic is accompanied and complicated by an associated infodemicsoverabundance of information, making it difficult for the public to find relevant and correct information [1]. A wide range of conspiracy theories about COVID-19 are influencing public opinions, with some of them being credible for about 8% to 38% of the population in Western [2] and Eastern [3] Europe or Northern. America [4], affecting adherence to anti-pandemic measures [3,5]. Susceptibility to conspiracy theories may be increased by dissociation: disintegration of experiences reducing awareness of intolerable information [6].
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