To what extent are conspiracy theorists concerned for self versus others? A COVID‐19 test case

Abstract

We examined whether people who are prone to believe COVID‐19 conspiracy theories are characterised by an especially strong concern for others or an especially strong concern for the self, and whether these orientations are associated with willingness to take a COVID‐19 vaccine. We surveyed 4,245 participants from eight nations; three months later we re‐contacted 1,262 participants from three nations. Belief in COVID‐19 conspiracy theories was related to greater concerns about one’s own safety, and lower concerns about the safety of close others. Furthermore, conspiracist ideation at Wave 1 predicted reluctance to take a COVID‐19 vaccine at Wave 2, mediated through relative concern for self versus other. In sum, people who are high in conspiracy beliefs have relatively higher concern for the self relative to others, with troubling implications for public health.

Mistrust and Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories Differently Mediate the Effects of Psychological Factors on Propensity for COVID-19 Vaccine

“…Thus, death anxiety could increase vaccination adherence as a form of mitigation of existential fears and concerns (Pastorino et al, 2021 ), but also increase belief in conspiracy theories for the very same reasons (van Prooijen, 2020 ). In fact, these theories could have a protective role against death anxiety (Hornsey et al, 2021 ). Conspiracy theories, while imaginative, could help in explaining a threat event and thus give a greater sensitivity to a difficult situation than the official explanation (Jutzi et al, 2020 ).…”

“…One of the central aspects of the conspiracy beliefs comes from distrust in political institutions, which can also lead to resistance to important medical and public health interventions (Ford et al, 2013 ; Oliver and Wood, 2014 ; Landrum and Olshansky, 2019 ), without diminishing the seriousness of the pandemic threat. In fact, according to Hornsey et al ( 2021 ), conspiratorial people tend to feel alienated, mistrustful, and angry. Moreover, they tend to be predominantly focused on their own personal interest and well-being, and less concerned with the well-being of those close to them.…”

“…Vaccine distrust of conspiratorial people could be linked to a generic belief system characterized by negative attitudes toward powerful groups, such as medical or political institutions (Bertin et al, 2020 ). Distrust and suspicion in conspiracy theorists are also accentuated in the present pandemic scenario by the economic interests of pharmaceutical companies related to the vaccine, where Big Pharma may exaggerate the benefits of vaccines by minimizing their dangers (Jolley and Douglas, 2014 ; Hornsey et al, 2021 ).…”

The Politics of Vaccine Hesitancy: An Ideological Dual-Process Approach

“…On the other hand, studies conducted in Poland (Kossowska et al, 2021) have found political ideology to be only loosely related to vaccine hesitancy, with conservatives being slightly more sceptical about vaccinations, which was related to greater mistrust toward scientists in that group. In contrast, a large study conducted in Spain has found higher scepticism among left-wing supporters (Hornsey et al, 2021), with highly educated radical left-wingers being most sceptical.…”

“…Previous research has yielded mixed evidence for the relationship between right-wing ideology and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination (Callaghan et al, 2020;Hornsey et al, 2020;Hornsey et al, 2021;Kennedy, 2019;Kossowska et al, 2021). We applied the Dual-Process Model of Ideology (Duckitt, 2001;Duckitt & Sibley, 2009) in order to further our understanding of the role of ideological factors in explaining people's intentions to vaccinate against COVID-19.…”