TY  - JOUR
A1  - Rudloff, Jan Philipp
A1  - Hutmacher, Fabian
A1  - Appel, Markus
T1  - Post-truth epistemic beliefs rooted in the Dark Factor of Personality are associated with higher COVID-19 vaccination refusal
JF  - Scientific Reports
N2  - 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.
KW  - diseases
KW  - psychology
Y1  - 2023
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357619
VL  - 13
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Rudloff, Jan Philipp
A1  - Hutmacher, Fabian
A1  - Appel, Markus
T1  - Beliefs about the nature of knowledge shape responses to the pandemic: Epistemic beliefs, the Dark Factor of Personality, and COVID‐19–related conspiracy ideation and behavior
JF  - Journal of Personality
N2  - Objective
Global challenges such as climate change or the COVID‐19 pandemic have drawn public attention to conspiracy theories and citizens' non‐compliance to science‐based behavioral guidelines. We focus on individuals' worldviews about how one can and should construct reality (epistemic beliefs) to explain the endorsement of conspiracy theories and behavior during the COVID‐19 pandemic and propose the Dark Factor of Personality (D) as an antecedent of post‐truth epistemic beliefs.

Method and Results
This model is tested in four pre‐registered studies. In Study 1 (N = 321), we found first evidence for a positive association between D and post‐truth epistemic beliefs (Faith in Intuition for Facts, Need for Evidence, Truth is Political). In Study 2 (N = 453), we tested the model proper by further showing that post‐truth epistemic beliefs predict the endorsement of COVID‐19 conspiracies and disregarding COVID‐19 behavioral guidelines. Study 3 (N = 923) largely replicated these results at a later stage of the pandemic. Finally, in Study 4 (N = 513), we replicated the results in a German sample, corroborating their cross‐cultural validity. Interactions with political orientation were observed.

Conclusion
Our research highlights that epistemic beliefs need to be taken into account when addressing major challenges to humankind.
KW  - conspiracy theories
KW  - COVID‐19
KW  - Dark Factor of Personality
KW  - epistemic beliefs
KW  - post‐truth
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-293793
VL  - 90
IS  - 6
SP  - 937
EP  - 955
ER  -