@phdthesis{Rudloff2023,
  author    = {Rudloff, Jan Philipp},
  title     = {Post-Truth Epistemic Beliefs Rooted in the Dark Factor of Personality Predict Irrational Cognition and Behavior},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-34478},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-344782},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Conspiracy theories and fake news are receiving wide media coverage and their proliferation has motivated academic research on the driving factors irrational cognition and behavior. This dissertation focuses on individuals' beliefs about knowledge and knowing, which are commonly referred to as epistemic beliefs. The term post-truth epistemic beliefs is proposed and defined as a strong trust in one's intuition, a low need to align opinions with evidence, and the strong conviction that truth is a matter of power. Across six online studies, a mediation model is proposed and tested. It includes the core of all dark traits, the Dark Factor of Personality (D), as an antecedent of post-truth epistemic beliefs, and irrational cognition and behavior as consequences. Manuscript \#1 comprises four studies showing that post-truth epistemic beliefs are rooted in D and predict increased endorsement of COVID-19 conspiracy theories as well as less engagement in health-protective behavior against COVID-19. Manuscript \#2 includes a US nationally representative study suggesting that post-truth epistemic beliefs and D predict a lower probability of having been vaccinated against COVID-19. Manuscript \#3 presents a repeated measures experiment indicating that the nexus of D and post-truth epistemic beliefs also predicts less discernment between fake and accurate news. These findings highlight a major insight and a serious challenge for rational communication: Some individuals deliberately disregard (scientific) evidence and rational decision-making. Against this background, the need to foster the epistemological development of students and educators is emphasized.},
  subject      = {Verschw{\"o}rungstheorie},
  language  = {en}
}