The conspiracy hoax? Testing key hypotheses about the correlates of generic beliefs in conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic
Year: 2020
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Conspiracy beliefs receive unprecedented public attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. This may be because they could 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-relevance real-life setting, (b) examine the role of trust in mediating effects 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) level of education, (b) social and economic worries, (c) trust in media, the government, public health institutions, and science, and (d) 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.
Authors: Bruder, Martin, Kunert, Laura
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6926196659