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Applied cognitive psychology
2021 Mar-Apr;35 (2): 486-496.

Irrational beliefs differentially predict adherence to guidelines and pseudoscientific practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Predrag Teovanovi��, Petar Luki��, Zorana Zupan, Aleksandra Lazi��, Milica Ninkovi��, Iris ��e��elj
Author Information
  1. Predrag Teovanovi��: Faculty for Special Education and Rehabilitation University of Belgrade Belgrade Serbia. ORCID
  2. Petar Luki��: Laboratory for Research of Individual Differences, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy University of Belgrade Belgrade Serbia. ORCID
  3. Zorana Zupan: Laboratory for Research of Individual Differences, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy University of Belgrade Belgrade Serbia. ORCID
  4. Aleksandra Lazi��: Laboratory for Research of Individual Differences, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy University of Belgrade Belgrade Serbia. ORCID
  5. Milica Ninkovi��: Laboratory for Research of Individual Differences, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy University of Belgrade Belgrade Serbia. ORCID
  6. Iris ��e��elj: Laboratory for Research of Individual Differences, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy University of Belgrade Belgrade Serbia. ORCID
PMID: 33362344 DOI: 10.1002/acp.3770

Abstract

In the coronavirus "infodemic," people are exposed to official recommendations but also to potentially dangerous pseudoscientific advice claimed to protect against COVID-19. We examined whether irrational beliefs predict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines as well as susceptibility to such misinformation. Irrational beliefs were indexed by belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, COVID-19 knowledge overestimation, type I error cognitive biases, and cognitive intuition. Participants ( = 407) reported (1) how often they followed guidelines (e.g., handwashing, physical distancing), (2) how often they engaged in pseudoscientific practices (e.g., consuming garlic, colloidal silver), and (3) their intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Conspiratorial beliefs predicted all three outcomes in line with our expectations. Cognitive intuition and knowledge overestimation predicted lesser adherence to guidelines, while cognitive biases predicted greater adherence, but also greater use of pseudoscientific practices. Our results suggest an important relation between irrational beliefs and health behaviors, with conspiracy theories being the most detrimental.

Keywords

COVID���19 health behavior cognitive biases conspiracy theories knowledge overestimation pseudoscience

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Journal Article
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Word Cloud

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