Abstract
In this paper, antecedents and consequences of conspiracy beliefs are investigated in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. 618 individuals residing in different geographical area of Italy participated in the study. We found that perceived mortality rate of COVID-19 is positively associated with adherence to conspiracy beliefs and, in turn, with negative outcomes such as: (a) a reduced support for the measures taken to deal with the pandemic emergency, (b) a weaker feeling of guilt for the violation of anti-COVID-19 government rules, and (c) a stronger utilitarian stance which prioritizes economic over health-related outcomes of lockdown. Also, framing pandemic within the “natural order of things” – fundamental and implicit expectations concerning how life and the world should function – was expected to moderate the relationship between perceived mortality rate and conspiracy beliefs: we found this relationship to be weaker when people believe that pandemic falls into the “natural order of things”
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@article{Pellegrini2021,
title = {Is Covid-19 a natural event? Covid-19 pandemic and conspiracy beliefs},
author = {Valerio Pellegrini and Mauro Giacomantonio and Valeria De Cristofaro and Marco Salvati and Maurizio Brasini and Elio Carlo and Francesco Mancini and Luigi Leone},
editor = {Elsevier},
url = {https://apc.it/1-s2-0-s019188692100386x-main/},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111011},
issn = {0191-8869},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-05-24},
journal = {Personality and Individual Differences},
volume = {181},
pages = {111011},
abstract = {In this paper, antecedents and consequences of conspiracy beliefs are investigated in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. 618 individuals residing in different geographical area of Italy participated in the study. We found that perceived mortality rate of COVID-19 is positively associated with adherence to conspiracy beliefs and, in turn, with negative outcomes such as: (a) a reduced support for the measures taken to deal with the pandemic emergency, (b) a weaker feeling of guilt for the violation of anti-COVID-19 government rules, and (c) a stronger utilitarian stance which prioritizes economic over health-related outcomes of lockdown. Also, framing pandemic within the “natural order of things” – fundamental and implicit expectations concerning how life and the world should function – was expected to moderate the relationship between perceived mortality rate and conspiracy beliefs: we found this relationship to be weaker when people believe that pandemic falls into the “natural order of things”},
keywords = {COVID-19Mortality rateConspiracy beliefsNatural order},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
