@article{RudloffHutmacherAppel2023,
  author    = {Rudloff, Jan Philipp and Hutmacher, Fabian and Appel, Markus},
  title     = {Post-truth epistemic beliefs rooted in the Dark Factor of Personality are associated with higher COVID-19 vaccination refusal},
  series = {Scientific Reports},
  volume    = {13},
  journal   = {Scientific Reports},
  doi       = {10.1038/s41598-023-31079-9},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357619},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {A substantial number of people refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which prompts the question as to why. We focus on the role of individual worldviews about the nature and generation of knowledge (epistemic beliefs). We propose a model that includes epistemic beliefs, their relationship to the Dark Factor of Personality (D), and their mutual effect on the probability of having been vaccinated against COVID-19. Based on a US nationally representative sample (N = 1268), we show that stronger endorsement of post-truth epistemic beliefs was associated with a lower probability of having been vaccinated against COVID-19. D was also linked to a lower probability of having been vaccinated against COVID-19, which can be explained by post-truth epistemic beliefs. Our results indicate that the more individuals deliberately refrain from adhering to the better argument, the less likely they are vaccinated. More generally, post-truth epistemic beliefs pose a challenge for rational communication.},
  language  = {en}
}