Subjective norms prior to vaccination moderate the relationship between conspiracy thinking and vaccination intentions

First published: July 18, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12550

Commentary

This study was designed to investigate the role of subjective norms in moderating the association between conspiracy thinking and vaccine hesitancy.

 Five studies (total N = 1,280) were conducted to test several vaccination status hypotheses.

The concept of conspiracy

Vaccination intentions

Subjective norms

Attitudes toward vaccination

Perceived behavioral control

The following five items were measured.

As a result, an integrated analysis of the entire study revealed an interaction effect of conspiracy mentality and subjective norms on vaccination intentions, with higher subjective norms indicating that conspiracy mentality did not predict vaccination intentions. This means that when participants felt that others approved of the vaccine, they did. This was consistent with the relaxation of subjective norms hypothesis and not with the immunity hypothesis.

In conclusion, the typical negative relationship between conspiracy thinking and vaccination is ruled out among people who perceive subjective norms prior to vaccination.