Irrational beliefs differentially predict adherence to guidelines and pseudoscientific practices during the COVID-19 pandemic
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Teovanović, PredragLukić, Petar

Zupan, Zorana

Lazić, Aleksandra

Ninković, Milica

Žeželj, Iris

Article (Published version)

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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 (N = 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 pseudoscien...tific practices. Our results suggest an important relation between irrational beliefs and health behaviors, with conspiracy theories being the most detrimental.
Keywords:
pseudoscience / knowledge overestimation / COVID-19 health behavior / conspiracy theories / cognitive biasesSource:
Applied Cognitive Psychology, 2021, 35, 2, 486-496Publisher:
- Wiley, Hoboken
Funding / projects:
- University of Belgrade [2020-018]
DOI: 10.1002/acp.3770
ISSN: 0888-4080
PubMed: 33362344
WoS: 000596094900001
Scopus: 2-s2.0-85094200752
Institution/Community
Psihologija / PsychologyTY - JOUR AU - Teovanović, Predrag AU - Lukić, Petar AU - Zupan, Zorana AU - Lazić, Aleksandra AU - Ninković, Milica AU - Žeželj, Iris PY - 2021 UR - http://reff.f.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3355 AB - 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 (N = 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. PB - Wiley, Hoboken T2 - Applied Cognitive Psychology T1 - Irrational beliefs differentially predict adherence to guidelines and pseudoscientific practices during the COVID-19 pandemic EP - 496 IS - 2 SP - 486 VL - 35 DO - 10.1002/acp.3770 ER -
@article{ author = "Teovanović, Predrag and Lukić, Petar and Zupan, Zorana and Lazić, Aleksandra and Ninković, Milica and Žeželj, Iris", year = "2021", 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 (N = 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.", publisher = "Wiley, Hoboken", journal = "Applied Cognitive Psychology", title = "Irrational beliefs differentially predict adherence to guidelines and pseudoscientific practices during the COVID-19 pandemic", pages = "496-486", number = "2", volume = "35", doi = "10.1002/acp.3770" }
Teovanović, P., Lukić, P., Zupan, Z., Lazić, A., Ninković, M.,& Žeželj, I.. (2021). Irrational beliefs differentially predict adherence to guidelines and pseudoscientific practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. in Applied Cognitive Psychology Wiley, Hoboken., 35(2), 486-496. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3770
Teovanović P, Lukić P, Zupan Z, Lazić A, Ninković M, Žeželj I. Irrational beliefs differentially predict adherence to guidelines and pseudoscientific practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. in Applied Cognitive Psychology. 2021;35(2):486-496. doi:10.1002/acp.3770 .
Teovanović, Predrag, Lukić, Petar, Zupan, Zorana, Lazić, Aleksandra, Ninković, Milica, Žeželj, Iris, "Irrational beliefs differentially predict adherence to guidelines and pseudoscientific practices during the COVID-19 pandemic" in Applied Cognitive Psychology, 35, no. 2 (2021):486-496, https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3770 . .