The conspiracy hoax? Testing key hypotheses about the correlates of generic beliefs in conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Bruder, Martin
Kunert, Laura
Abstract / Description
Conspiracy beliefs are ubiquitous in the current COVID-19 pandemic. This may be because they directly affect own and others' health and economic outcomes due to detrimental effects on preventive behaviour. We aimed to (a) test key hypotheses on the correlates of generic beliefs in conspiracy theories in this high-threat real-life setting, (b) examine the role of trust in mediating effects of conspiracy beliefs on preventive behaviour, and (c) thereby inform the public health response. Using cross-sectional data (N=1,013) from the German COVID-19 monitoring we tested the relationships between conspiracy beliefs and (a) social and economic worries, (b) trust in media, the government, public health institutions, and science, and (c) hygiene-related and contact-related preventive behaviour. Results were in line with expectations apart from null findings for the relationships with social worries and hygiene-related preventive behaviour. Trust in government mediated effects of conspiracy beliefs on contact-related preventive behaviour.
This is a postprint of: Bruder, M., & Kunert, L. (2021). The conspiracy hoax? Testing key hypotheses about the correlates of generic beliefs in conspiracy theories during the COVID‐19 pandemic. International Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12769
Keyword(s)
coronavirus pandemic conspiracy ideation public health messaging social distancing government trustPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2020-08
Journal title
International Journal of Psychology
Publisher
PsychArchives
Publication status
accepted version
Review status
reviewed
Is version of
Citation
Bruder, M., & Kunert, L. (2020). The conspiracy hoax? Testing key hypotheses about the correlates of generic beliefs in conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic. PsychArchives. https://doi.org/10.23668/PSYCHARCHIVES.4785
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Bruder_Kunert_conspiracy beliefs_brief report_IJoP.pdfAdobe PDF - 991.73KBMD5: fa6e2d35882e756919726d084ebbab30
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Bruder, Martin
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Kunert, Laura
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2021-04-27T11:27:07Z
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Made available on2021-04-27T11:27:07Z
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Date of first publication2020-08
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Abstract / DescriptionConspiracy beliefs are ubiquitous in the current COVID-19 pandemic. This may be because they directly affect own and others' health and economic outcomes due to detrimental effects on preventive behaviour. We aimed to (a) test key hypotheses on the correlates of generic beliefs in conspiracy theories in this high-threat real-life setting, (b) examine the role of trust in mediating effects of conspiracy beliefs on preventive behaviour, and (c) thereby inform the public health response. Using cross-sectional data (N=1,013) from the German COVID-19 monitoring we tested the relationships between conspiracy beliefs and (a) social and economic worries, (b) trust in media, the government, public health institutions, and science, and (c) hygiene-related and contact-related preventive behaviour. Results were in line with expectations apart from null findings for the relationships with social worries and hygiene-related preventive behaviour. Trust in government mediated effects of conspiracy beliefs on contact-related preventive behaviour.en
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Abstract / DescriptionThis is a postprint of: Bruder, M., & Kunert, L. (2021). The conspiracy hoax? Testing key hypotheses about the correlates of generic beliefs in conspiracy theories during the COVID‐19 pandemic. International Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12769en
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Publication statusaccepted versionen
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Review statusrevieweden
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CitationBruder, M., & Kunert, L. (2020). The conspiracy hoax? Testing key hypotheses about the correlates of generic beliefs in conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic. PsychArchives. https://doi.org/10.23668/PSYCHARCHIVES.4785en
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ISSN1464-066X
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/4224
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.4785
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychArchivesen
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12769
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Is related tohttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.3158
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Is related tohttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.2776
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Keyword(s)coronavirus pandemicen
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Keyword(s)conspiracy ideationen
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Keyword(s)public health messagingen
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Keyword(s)social distancingen
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Keyword(s)government trusten
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleThe conspiracy hoax? Testing key hypotheses about the correlates of generic beliefs in conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemicen
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DRO typearticleen
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Leibniz subject classificationPsychologiede_DE
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Leibniz subject classificationSozialwissenschaftende_DE
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Journal titleInternational Journal of Psychologyen
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Visible tag(s)Accepted Manuscript
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Visible tag(s)COSMOen
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Visible tag(s)COSMO-DEen