To what extent are conspiracy theorists concerned about self versus others?COVID-19 Test Case
We examined whether people who tend to believe in COVID-19 conspiracy theories are characterized by a particularly strong concern for others or a particularly strong concern for self, and whether these orientations are associated with a willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine. 4,245 participants from 8 countries were surveyed. Beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories were associated with greater concern for one's own safety and less concern for the safety of close others. In addition, the conspirators' beliefs at Wave 1 predicted resistance to getting the COVID-19 vaccine at Wave 2. This was mediated by relative concerns about self and others. In short, people with high conspiracy beliefs have relatively high concern for self compared to others.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2737
Explanation
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a new opportunity to investigate the prosocial orientations of people who are biased toward conspiracy theory thinking. Conspiracy-minded individuals were characterized by a pattern of being relatively concerned about their own well-being and actively engaging in behaviors that primarily reflect their self-interest. Those who were biased toward these thoughts were also less likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19, a difference that was partially attributable to their relatively self-centered concerns.
This trend reveals a psychological background for conspiracy theories that focus on self-oriented concerns rather than concerns for group welfare. These thoughts are not the result of conspiracy theorists downplaying the reality of the threat, as revealed by the measurements collected at three-month intervals. However, there are limitations to these results, and the researchers cannot make generalizing claims about these contexts because they were drawn exclusively from the advanced industrialized nations of the West.
