Irrational beliefs differentially predict adherence to guidelines and pseudoscientific practices during the COVID-19 pandemic

In the coronavirus infodemic, people are exposed to official recommendations but also to potentially dangerous pseudoscientific advice claimed to protect against COVID-19. We examined whether irrational beliefs predict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines as well as susceptibility to such misinformation. Irrational beliefs were indexed by belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, COVID-19 knowledge overestimation, type I error cognitive biases, and cognitive intuition. Participants (N = 407) reported (1) how often they followed guidelines (e.g., handwashing, physical distancing), (2) how often they engaged in pseudoscientific practices (e.g., consuming garlic, colloidal silver), and (3) their intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Conspiratorial beliefs predicted all three outcomes in line with our expectations. Cognitive intuition and knowledge overestimation predicted lesser adherence to guidelines, while cognitive biases predicted greater adherence, but also greater use of pseudoscientific practices. Our results suggest an important relation between irrational beliefs and health behaviors, with conspiracy theories being the most detrimental.

Automated summary

This study found that irrational beliefs, such as believing in conspiracy theories, overestimating knowledge, cognitive biases, and cognitive intuition, can predict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines and susceptibility to misinformation. Conspiracy beliefs were found to be the most detrimental, leading to lower adherence to guidelines and a higher likelihood of engaging in pseudoscientific practices.