Psychological correlates of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and preventive measures: evidence from turkey.

Alper, Sinan; Bayrak, Fatih; Yilmaz, Onurcan

doi:10.1007/s12144-020-00903-0

Cited by 192Misinformation and Its ImpactsCOVID-19 and Mental HealthCommunication and COVID-19 Impact

Psychological correlates of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and preventive measures: evidence from turkey.

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Alper, Sinan, Bayrak, Fatih, Yilmaz, Onurcan·2021·Current Psychology

DOI 10.1007/s12144-020-00903-0PMC PMC7324005

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Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has led to popular conspiracy theories regarding its origins and widespread concern over the level of compliance with preventive measures. In the current preregistered research, we recruited 1088 Turkish participants and investigated (a) individual differences associated with COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs; (b) whether such conspiracy beliefs are related to the level of preventive measures; and (c) other individual differences that might be related to the preventive measures. Higher faith in intuition, uncertainty avoidance, impulsivity, generic conspiracy beliefs, religiosity, and right-wing ideology, and a lower level of cognitive reflection were associated with a higher level of belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories. There was no association between COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and preventive measures while perceived risk was positively and impulsivity negatively correlated with preventive measures. We discuss the implications and directions for future research.

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Lack of trust in the government is related to higher acceptance of conspiracy theories, which is related to higher fear/anxiety related to COVID-19.
“Some recent studies have already implicated such a possibility by demonstrating that a lack of trust in the government is related to a higher acceptance of conspiracy theories (Bruder and Kunert, 2020) that is by itself related to the higher fear/anxiety related to COVID-19 (Alper et al., 2020; Larsen et al., 2020).”
From Intolerance of Uncertainty and Tendency to Worry as Mediators Between Trust in Institutions and Social Support and Fear of Coronavirus and Consequences of the Pandemic (2021) · cites this paper as Alper et al., 2020
The Alper citation attaches to the link between conspiracy beliefs and COVID-19 fear or anxiety, not to the government-trust claim. In Predictors of COVID-19 Conspiracy Beliefs (page unavailable), the paper proposes that anxiety arising from uncertainty may make people more prone to conspiracy beliefs; Results (page unavailable) finds an association with uncertainty avoidance. It does not show that conspiracy beliefs are related to higher COVID-19 fear or anxiety, and its correlation with perceived infection risk is very weak and negative (r = −.066). (LLM, conf=0.82)
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A Tale of Two Cities: Community Psychobehavioral Surveillance and Related Impact on Outbreak Control in Hong Kong and Singapore During the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Epidemic
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“However, there was also a small number of studies that did not find a relation (Alper et al., 2020; Čavojová et al., 2022; Juanchich et al., 2021) or no unique effect of COVID conspiracy beliefs on COVID-19 guideline adherence (Díaz and Cova, 2020; Soveri et al., 2021).”
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“These factors were shown to be related to the conspiracy beliefs (e.g., Alper et al., 2020; Sallam et al., 2021).”
Background
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Result
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“Analytical Thinking has been consistently shown to be associated with lower conspir-acy beliefs (e.g., Gligori (cid:1) c et al., 2018; Swami et al., 2014), including COVID-19 related conspiracies (Alper et al., 2020; Stanley et al., 2020).”
Background
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van Mulukom, V., Pummerer, L., Alper, S., Bai, H., Čavojová, V., Farias, J. E. M., Kay, C. S., Lazarević, L. B., Lobato, E. J. C., Marinthe, G., et al. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/u8yah · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Dynamic relationships between different types of conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and protective behaviour: A four-wave panel study in Poland
Oleksy, T., Wnuk, A., Gambin, M., & Łyś, A. (2021) · Social Science & Medicine (1967) · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114028 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
“On the other hand, some studies find no significant association between conspiracy theories and adherence to preventive measures (Alper et al., 2020; Čavojova et al., 2020; Díaz and Cova, 2020; Plohl and Musil, 2020).”
A framework for understanding reasoning errors: From fake news to climate change and beyond
Pennycook, G. (2022) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/bs.aesp.2022.11.003 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Reflective thinking predicts lower conspiracy beliefs: A meta-analysis
Yelbuz, B. E., Madan, E., & Alper, S. (2022) · Judgment and Decision Making · doi:10.1017/s1930297500008913 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Contemporary trends in psychological research on conspiracy beliefs. A systematic review
Pilch, I., Turska-Kawa, A., Wardawy, P., Olszanecka-Marmola, A., & Smołkowska-Jędo, W. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1075779 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
“, 2021) or even positive relationships (Alper et al., 2021; Corbu et al., 2021; Wang and Kim, 2021) between these variables were reported.”
BackgroundResultInfluential
Exploring the association between compliance with measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and big five traits with Bayesian generalized linear model
Han, H. (2021) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.110787 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Intuition, reason, and conspiracy beliefs
Binnendyk, J., & Pennycook, G. (2022) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101387 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Who Believes in COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories in Croatia? Prevalence and Predictors of Conspiracy Beliefs
Tonković, M., Dumančić, F., Jelić, M., & Biruški, D. Č. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643568 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
COVID-19 as an undesirable political issue: Conspiracy beliefs and intolerance of uncertainty predict adhesion to prevention measures
Farias, J. E. M., & Pilati, R. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-01416-0 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
“Besides, uncertainty avoidance has been associated with a higher level of belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories (Alper et al., 2020).”
Background
Exploring the Effect of Collective Cultural Attributes on Covid-19-Related Public Health Outcomes
Erman, A., & Medeiros, M. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.627669 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Systematic review on the association of COVID-19-related conspiracy belief with infection-preventive behavior and vaccination willingness
Ripp, T., & Röer, J. P. (2022) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-022-00771-2 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
“Two studies examined a Polish sample [25, 26], and one sample each was collected in Serbia [22] and Turkey [24].”
Influential
Analytic thinking predicts accuracy ratings and willingness to share COVID-19 misinformation in Australia
Nurse, M. S., Ross, R. M., İşler, O., & Rooy, D. V. (2021) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/s13421-021-01219-5 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
“These findings are consistent with similar research on beliefs about COVID-19 misinformation in Canada, Italy, Iran, Slovakia, Turkey, the United States, and the UK (Alper et al., 2020; Čavojová et al., 2020; Pennycook, McPhetres, Bago, et al., 2021; Sadeghiyeh et al., 2020; Salvi et al., 2021).”
BackgroundResultInfluential
On the Relation Between Religiosity and the Endorsement of Conspiracy Theories: The Role of Political Orientation
Frenken, M., Bilewicz, M., & Imhoff, R. (2022) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12822 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Suspecting Foul Play When It Is Objectively There: The Association of Political Orientation With General and Partisan Conspiracy Beliefs as a Function of Corruption Levels
Alper, S., & Imhoff, R. (2022) · Social Psychology and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/19485506221113965 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Explaining Health Misinformation Belief through News, Social, and Alternative Health Media Use: The Moderating Roles of Need for Cognition and Faith in Intuition
Wu, Y., Kuru, O., Campbell, S. W., & Baruh, L. (2022) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2021.2010891 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
“Also, it supports evidence from a recent study conducted in Turkey that showed higher FI was associated with a higher level of belief in Covid-19 conspiracy theories (Alper et al., 2020).”
Result
Impact of COVID-19 First Wave on Psychological and Psychosocial Dimensions: A Systematic Review
Filindassi, V., Pedrini, C., Sabadini, C., Duradoni, M., & Guazzini, A. (2022) · COVID · doi:10.3390/covid2030022 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
“On the contrary, conspiracy theories [18,45,90,103,167], impulsivity [48], self-centered behaviors [18,49,136], outdoor sports [104] and low conscientiousness score [146] were negatively associated with the adherence to the preventive behaviors.”
BackgroundInfluential
Psychological underpinnings of pandemic denial - patterns of disagreement with scientific experts in the German public during the COVID-19 pandemic
Rothmund, T., Farkhari, F., Ziemer, C., & Azevedo, F. (2022) · Public Understanding of Science · doi:10.1177/09636625211068131 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Don't believe it! A global perspective on cognitive reflection and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 pandemic
Kantorowicz‐Reznichenko, E., Folmer, C. R., & Kantorowicz, J. (2022) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2022.111666 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Irrational Beliefs about COVID-19: A Scoping Review
Magarini, F. M., Pinelli, M., Sinisi, A., Ferrari, S., Fazio, G. L. D., & Galeazzi, G. M. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18199839 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
“a positive correlation with faith in intuition, and with lack of sensibility to a contradiction, both typical characteristics of irrational thinking [72,79].”
BackgroundResultInfluential
To get vaccinated or not? Social psychological factors associated with vaccination intent for COVID-19
Baeza-Rivera, M. J., Salazar-Fernández, C., Araneda-Leal, L., & Manríquez-Robles, D. (2021) · Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology · doi:10.1177/18344909211051799 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
What Should I Trust? Individual Differences in Attitudes to Conflicting Information and Misinformation on COVID-19
Filkuková, P., Ayton, P., Rand, K., & Langguth, J. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.588478 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Summarising data and factors associated with COVID-19 related conspiracy theories in the first year of the pandemic: a systematic review and narrative synthesis
Tsamakis, K., Tsiptsios, D., Stubbs, B., Ma, R., Romano, E., Mueller, C., Ahmad, A., Triantafyllis, A. S., Tsitsas, G. D., & Dragioti, E. (2022) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-022-00959-6 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
“In regards with perceived risk/perceived threat from COVID-19, three studies showed that it was inversely related with conspiracy theories [8, 36, 39] On the contrary, one study showed that beliefs in conspiracy theories were positively related to perceived risk [30].”
BackgroundResult
Political Ideology, Ingroup Favoritism, and Conspiratorial Thinking: Patriotism, Nationalism, and COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories
Zhai, Y., & Yan, Z. (2022) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941221079727 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“Previous studies have found that conservatives have more conspiracy beliefs (Alper et al., 2020; Enders et al., 2020; Pasek et al., 2015).”
BackgroundResult
The generic conspiracist beliefs scale – 5: A short-form measure of conspiracist ideation
Kay, C. S., & Slovic, P. (2022) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2022.104315 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
The impact of COVID-19 misinformation and trust in institutions on preventive behaviors
Lee, S. J., Lee, C., & Hwang, H. (2022) · Health Education Research · doi:10.1093/her/cyac038 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Paranormal beliefs and cognitive function: A systematic review and assessment of study quality across four decades of research
Dean, C. E., Akhtar, S., Gale, T. M., Irvine, K., Grohmann, D., & Laws, K. R. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0267360 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Understanding health misinformation sharing among the middle-aged or above in China: roles of social media health information seeking, misperceptions and information processing predispositions
Tang, Y., Luo, C., & Su, Y. (2023) · Online Information Review · doi:10.1108/oir-04-2023-0157 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Psychological distance towards COVID-19: Geographical and hypothetical distance predict attitudes and mediate knowledge
Blauza, S., Heuckmann, B., Kremer, K., & Büssing, A. G. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-02415-x · Cited by 34 · see citing works
“Therefore, future studies should more explicitly investigate this connection, as the missing hypothetical distance may be one key factor for people disbelieving the governmental information, besides other personality related factors (Alper et al., 2020; Marinthe et al., 2020).”
Background
The role of impulsivity and delay discounting in student compliance with COVID-19 protective measures
Wismans, A., Letina, S., Wennberg, K. J., Thurik, R., Baptista, R., Burke, A., Dejardin, M., Janssen, F., Santarelli, E., Torrès, O., et al. (2021) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.110925 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
“Three studies (two of which non peer reviewed) have been conducted studying the link between self-reported impulsivity and compliance, all showing a strong negative association (Kuiper et al., 2020; Van Rooij et al., 2020; Alper et al., 2020).”
Influential
Rational thinking style, rejection of coronavirus (COVID-19) conspiracy theories/theorists, and compliance with mandated requirements
Swami, V., & Barron, D. S. (2021) · Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology · doi:10.1177/18344909211037385 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
“…stronger belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories and reduced compliance with mandated requirements (e.g., Bierwiaczonek et al., 2020; Fazio et al., 2021; Freeman et al., 2021; Rieger, 2020; but see Alper et al., 2021) and lower intention to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (Biddlestone et al., 2020).”
Background
Pandemic Compliance: A Systematic Review of Influences on Social Distancing Behaviour during the First Wave of the COVID-19 OutbreakPreprint
Kooistra, E. B., & van Rooij, B. (2020) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.31234/osf.io/c5x2k · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Your health vs. my liberty: Philosophical beliefs dominated reflection and identifiable victim effects when predicting public health recommendation compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic
Byrd, N., & Białek, M. (2021) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104649 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
The mediating role of vaccine hesitancy in the relations of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and vaccination outcomes: Which dimensions matter?
Howard, M. C., & Davis, M. M. (2022) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/13591053221096013 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“…(Georgiou et al., 2020; Hughes and Machan, 2021; Jovančević and Milićević, 2020), and authors have begun to study broader outcomes of these beliefs (Alper et al., 2021; Leibovitz et al., 2021). van Prooijen et al. (2021), for example, empirically supported that COVID-19 conspir-acy beliefs relate…”
Background
Factors associated with the belief in COVID-19 related conspiracy theories in Pakistan
Ejaz, W., Ittefaq, M., Seo, H., & Naz, F. (2021) · Health Risk & Society · doi:10.1080/13698575.2021.1929865 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Both a bioweapon and a hoax: the curious case of contradictory conspiracy theories about COVID-19
Petrović, M., & Žeželj, I. (2021) · Thinking & Reasoning · doi:10.1080/13546783.2022.2088618 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Socio-Psychological Predictors of Belief in Conspiracy Theories of the Origin of COVID-19 and Involvement in Social Media
Нестик, Т. А., Deyneka, O. S., & MAKSIMENKO, A. A. (2020) · Social Psychology and Society · doi:10.17759/sps.2020110407 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
A framework for understanding reasoning errors: From fake news to climate change and beyondPreprint
Pennycook, G. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/j3w7d · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Risk-Perception Change Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine’s Side Effects: The Role of Individual Differences
Colautti, L., Cancer, A., Magenes, S., Antonietti, A., & Iannello, P. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19031189 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
“In addition to this, it is positively correlated to the tendency to believe in fake news and to endorse conspiracy theories related to COVID-19 (see for example [31,33,34]).”
Background
Skepticism, cynicism, and cognitive style predictors of the generality of unsubstantiated belief
Bensley, D. A., Watkins, C., Lilienfeld, S. O., Masciocchi, C. M., Murtagh, M. P., & Rowan, K. A. (2021) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3900 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Psychological foundations and behavioral consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy theory beliefs: The Turkish case
Erişen, C. (2022) · International Political Science Review · doi:10.1177/01925121221084625 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
“More importantly, neither of these characteristics influences compliance or vaccination preferences, implying that further research on individual differences would be worthwhile (Alper et al., 2021).”
Background
Critical Thinking, Intelligence, and Unsubstantiated Beliefs: An Integrative Review
Bensley, D. A. (2023) · Journal of Intelligence · doi:10.3390/jintelligence11110207 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“REI intuitive–experiential thinking style was also positively correlated with belief in complementary and alternative medicine (Lindeman 2011), conspiracy theory belief (Alper et al. 2020), and with endorsement of psychological misconceptions (Bensley et al. 2014; Bensley et al. 2022).”
Result
The Paradox of Conspiracy Theory: The Positive Impact of Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories on Preventive Actions and Vaccination Intentions during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Wang, J., & Kim, S. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph182211825 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“Conversely, some studies contradict the dominant finding that conspiracy beliefs have negative effects, finding no correlation between beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracies and recommended behaviors to prevent COVID-19 [57,58].”
Result
Scientific reasoning is associated with rejection of unfounded health beliefs and adherence to evidence-based regulations during the Covid-19 pandemic
Čavojová, V., Šrol, J., & Mikušková, E. B. (2023) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-023-04284-y · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“There are some exceptions though (Alper et al., 2020; Juanchich et al., 2021).”
Intolerance of Uncertainty and Tendency to Worry as Mediators Between Trust in Institutions and Social Support and Fear of Coronavirus and Consequences of the Pandemic
Gvozden, T. V., Baucal, A., Krstic, K., & Filipović, S. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.737188 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
“Some recent studies have already implicated such a possibility by demonstrating that a lack of trust in the government is related to a higher acceptance of conspiracy theories (Bruder and Kunert, 2020) that is by itself related to the higher fear/anxiety related to COVID-19 (Alper et al., 2020; Larsen et al., 2020).”
Background
Both‐Sideology Endangers Democracy and Social Science
Jost, J. T. (2024) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/josi.12633 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Adherence to COVID-19 mitigation measures: The role of sociodemographic and personality factors
Turk, E., Čelik, T., Smrdu, M., Šet, J., Kuder, A., Gregorič, M., & Kralj‐Fišer, S. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-02051-5 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“While open-minded individuals are generally more likely to seek health-related information and understand and follow medical advice (Beier & Ackerman, 2003; Bogg & Vo, 2014; Alper et al., 2020), COVID-19 studies provide mixed results.”
Background
Uptake of COVID-19 Booster Dose among Saudi Arabian Population
Alshahrani, N. Z., Alsabaani, A. A., Ridda, I., Rashid, H., Alzahrani, F., Almutairi, T. H., Alzahrani, B. A. S., & Albeshri, A. S. S. (2022) · Medicina · doi:10.3390/medicina58070972 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“Previous studies have indicated that social media and other unofficial sources of information were associated with more conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and vaccines, which could explain the lower uptake rates among participants who use them as their sources of information [30,31].”
Result
Religiousness in the first year of COVID-19: A systematic review of empirical research
David, A. B., Park, C. L., Awao, S., Vega, S., Zuckerman, M. S., White, T. F., & Hanna, D. C. (2022) · Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.cresp.2022.100075 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
A latent profile analysis of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: Associations with thinking styles, mistrust, socio-political control, need for closure and verbal intelligence
Jones, C., Galbraith, N., Boyda, D., Martin, D., & Jackson, K. (2023) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2023.112155 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“This approach uses regression analysis with a Wald test to estimate a distal outcome model (Table 6) (Asparouhov & Muthén, 2014; Lanza et al., 2013).”
Method
Trust in crisis
Dyrendal, A., & Hestad, K. (2021) · Approaching Religion · doi:10.30664/ar.107485 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Predicting COVID-19 conspiracist ideation from the Dark Tetrad traitsPreprint
Kay, C. S. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/j3m2y · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Overconfidently conspiratorial: Conspiracy believers are dispositionally overconfident and massively overestimate how much others agree with themPreprint
Pennycook, G., Binnendyk, J., & Rand, D. G. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/d5fz2 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
WHY SOME HESITATE MORE: CROSS-CULTURAL VARIATION IN CONSPIRACY BELIEFS, BELIEF IN SCIENCE, AND VACCINE ATTITUDESPreprint
Salali, G. D., & Uysal, M. S. (2021) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2021.07.09.21260228 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
The transmission game: Testing behavioral interventions in a pandemic-like simulation
Woike, J. K., Hafenbrädl, S., Kanngiesser, P., & Hertwig, R. (2022) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.abk0428 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“Previous attempts to implement synchronous interactions in larger groups with crowdsourced participants have experienced high attrition rates ( 43 ), with attrition likely concentrated in impulsive participants—who form a subgroup of interest when studying preventive behavior ( 44 ).”
The Roles of Health and e-Health Literacy, Conspiracy Beliefs and Political Sympathy in the Adherence to Preventive Measures Recommended during the Pandemic
Duplaga, M. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19148346 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“Among other factors, the perceived risk from COVID-19 [15–17], trust in science [9], trust in the government’s competence [10,18–21], positive attitudes toward complying with recommendations [14], intellectual curiosity [9], low impulsivity [15] and high empathy [21] were indicated as features favoring the adherence t…”
Background
Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccine Intention: Evidence from Chile, Mexico, and Colombia
Salazar-Fernández, C., Baeza-Rivera, M. J., Bustamante, M. V., Bautista, J. A. P., Navarro, R. M., & Pino, M. (2022) · Vaccines · doi:10.3390/vaccines10071129 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Théories du complot et COVID-19 : comment naissent les croyances complotistes ?
Bottemanne, H. (2022) · L'Encephale · doi:10.1016/j.encep.2021.12.005 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“ans le cas du coronavirus, des croyances complotistes antérieures ur d’autres thématiques comme la vaccination ou le changement limatique [52] prédisaient aussi la probabilité de développer des royances complotistes liées au virus [78,103].”
Does communist nostalgia lead to COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs?
Ramonaitė, A. (2022) · European Societies · doi:10.1080/14616696.2022.2132525 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“…is primarily focused on universal psychological factors such as personality features, conspiratorial thinking, open-mindedness, the role of insecurity and political trust (Larsen et al. 2021, Freeman et al. 2022, Šrol et al. 2021, Alper et al. 2020, Sallam et al. 2020, Stoica and Umbres 2021).”
Background
Partisan Bias in COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories: News Reliance and the Moderating Role of Trust in Health Authorities
Wu, Y., Kuru, O., Baruh, L., Çarkoğlu, A., Cemalcılar, Z., & Yıldırım, K. (2023) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2023.2181678 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“Conspiracy theories are unwarranted statements claiming certain social and political events or circumstances are planned and carried out secretly by one or more powerful, malevolent organizations (Alper et al., 2020; Douglas & Sutton, 2015).”
Background
Does personal relative deprivation mediate the relationship between passive social media use and beliefs in conspiracy theories? Cross‐sectional correlational and experimental evidence
Gkinopoulos, T., Pagliaro, S., Pacilli, M. G., Bilewicz, M., Teresi, M., & Ballone, C. (2023) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.3002 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Prevalence and Predictors of Intention to be Vaccinated Against COVID-19 in Thirteen Latin American and Caribbean Countries
Caycho‐Rodríguez, T., Valencia, P. D., Vilca, L. W., Carbajal‐León, C., Vivanco-Vidal, A., Saroli-Araníbar, D., Reyes-Bossio, M. A., White, M., Rojas-Jara, C., Polanco-Carrasco, R., et al. (2022) · Trends in Psychology · doi:10.1007/s43076-022-00170-x · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“…with preventive measures to minimize the risk of infection would be associated with a greater perception of uncertainty, higher perceived risk of disease, and high level of perceived stress, which could lead to feeling a lack of control over the situation (Alper et al., 2020; Swami et al., 2016).”
Background
Emotional Predictors of Populism in the Case of Turkey
Erişen, C. (2024) · American Behavioral Scientist · doi:10.1177/00027642241240349 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
“Whether considered as a psychological determinant (e.g. Alper et al., 2022), an important factor in parliamentary debates (e.g. Nefes, 2018), or in connection to COVID-19-related con-spiracy beliefs (e.g. Enders et al., 2021; Erisen, 2022), the conspiracy mindset is a reliable indicator of how and…”
Beliefs in COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation Among Unvaccinated Black Americans: Prevalence, Socio-Psychological Predictors, and Consequences
Wang, Y., Thier, K., Ntiri, S. O., Quinn, S., Adebamowo, C. A., & Nan, X.-L. (2023) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2023.2179711 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alper et al. (2020) found no association between participants’ beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories and individuals’ preventive behavioral intentions.”
Background
Analytic Thinking and Political Orientation in the Corona Crisis
Maglić, M., Pavlović, T. M., & Franc, R. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.631800 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Belief in Science‐Related Conspiracy Theories
Littrell, S., Diekman, A. B., Seelig, M. I., Premaratne, K., Wuchty, S., Verdear, D., Klofstad, C., & Uscinski, J. E. (2025) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/josi.70004 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Trust in information sources as a moderator of the impact of COVID-19 anxiety and exposure to information on conspiracy thinking and misinformation beliefs: a multilevel study
Khalaf, M. A., & Shehata, A. M. K. (2023) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-023-01425-7 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
The predictors of COVID-19 anxiety and helping behaviour during the pandemic: An investigation within the framework of individual and national level resources
Ünal, Ö., Cesur‐Atintaş, M., Canıöz, E. K., Kaya, H., & Yağmurcu, Y. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-01749-w · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“In addition, recent studies have shown that COVID-19 risk perception plays an important role in preventive health behavior (Alper et al., 2020; Marinthe et al., 2020).”
Background
Intuition, reason, and conspiracy beliefsPreprint
Binnendyk, J., & Pennycook, G. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/su3nq · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Multidimensional intuitive–analytic thinking style and its relation to moral concerns, epistemically suspect beliefs, and ideology
Bayrak, F., Doğruyol, B., Alper, S., & Yılmaz, O. (2023) · Judgment and Decision Making · doi:10.1017/jdm.2023.45 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Stronger Conspiracy Beliefs Are Associated With a Stronger Tendency to Act Dishonestly and an Overestimation of Others’ Dishonesty
Alper, S., Toribio‐Flórez, D., Capraro, V., & Douglas, K. M. (2024) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/19485506241302878 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“…the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale (henceforth referred to as generic conspiracy beliefs ; Brotherton et al., 2013; translated into Turkish by Alper, Bayrak, Yilmaz, 2021), which is a 15-item scale (e.g., ‘‘Secret organizations communicate with extraterrestrials, but keep this fact from the…”
Examining the Role of COVID-19 Conspiracy Beliefs in Predicting Vaccination Intentions, Preventive Behavior and Willingness to Share Opinions about the Coronavirus
Zelič, Ž., Berič, M., & Grum, D. K. (2022) · Studia Psychologica · doi:10.31577/sp.2022.01.844 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
COVID-19 Related Stresses, Conspiracy Beliefs, Uncertainty, and Non-adherence to Safety Guidelines
Barahmand, U., Mohamadpour, S., & Ahmad, R. H. S. (2022) · International Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.21500/20112084.5367 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“The positive association between conspiratorial beliefs regarding COVID-19 and feelings of uncertainty does confirm a potential bidirectional relationship consistent with previous reports (Alper et al., 2020; Maftei & Holman, 2020).”
Result
Risk perception and conspiracy theory endorsement predict compliance with COVID ‐19 public health measures
Lin, T., Heemskerk, A., Harris, E., & Ebner, N. C. (2022) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjop.12613 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Validating a German Version of the Conspiracy Mentality Scale (CMS)
Stojanov, A., & Hannawa, A. (2022) · Journal of Personality Assessment · doi:10.1080/00223891.2022.2149408 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“…believe in conspir-acy theories stems from the findings that belief in one con-spiracy theory is related to believes in other conspiracy theories (Alper et al., 2021; Freeman et al., 2022; Srol et al., 2021; Swami et al., 2010), even if they are contradictory (Luki (cid:4) c et al., 2019;…”
Background
Personality and early susceptibility to COVID‐19 in the United Kingdom
Satoshi Kanazawa, A. (2021) · Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/casp.2578 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Science vs. Conspiracy Theory about COVID-19: Need for Cognition and Openness to Experience Increased Belief in Conspiracy-Theoretical Postings on Social Media
Ozimek, P., Nettersheim, M., Rohmann, E., & Bierhoff, H. (2022) · Behavioral Science · doi:10.3390/bs12110435 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“Other studies suggest, in accordance with the viewpoint by Petty and Cacioppo [34], a positive relationship between conspiracytheoretical views and low cognitive reflection [57] and high intuition instead of analytical reasoning [3].”
Result
The influence of involvement and emotional valence on accuracy judgments and sharing intention of fake news
Wenjuan, L., Zhaotong, Y., Yuhua, D., & Midi, Z. (2023) · Journal of Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1080/20445911.2023.2241699 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“The spread of fake news can have a negative impact on public health (Alper et al., 2021; Singh et al., 2020).”
Background
Reflection predicts and leads to decreased conspiracy belief
Bayrak, F., Sümer, V., Doğruyol, B., Sarıbay, S. A., Alper, S., İşler, O., & Yılmaz, O. (2025) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2025.106085 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Populist Attitudes and Misinformation Challenging Trust: The Case of Turkey
Erişen, C., & Erişen, E. (2024) · International Journal of Public Opinion Research · doi:10.1093/ijpor/edae056 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
The influence of responsible leadership on protective behavior: organizational perspective of COVID-19 crisis
Irfan, M., Bhatti, O. K., & Öztürk, A. O. (2021) · Journal of economic and administrative sciences. · doi:10.1108/jeas-03-2021-0063 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
The role of behavioural immune system and belief in COVID-19 misinformation on COVID-19 protective behaviours in Indonesia
Prawira, B., Pratama, A. J., Bella, A., & Nuraini, S. (2021) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/13591053211037730 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“Other studies have shown the correlation between belief in misinformation and conspiracy regarding COVID-19 and preventive behaviours to be weak, inconsistent, or indirect (Alper et al., 2020; Díaz and Cova, 2020; Hornik et al., 2021).”
The COVID-19 Infodemic: Misinformation About Health on Social Media in Istanbul
Tunçer, S., & Mehmet Sinan, T. A. M. (2022) · Türkiye İletişim Araştırmaları Dergisi · doi:10.17829/turcom.1050696 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
What Breeds Conspiracy Theories in COVID-19? The Role of Risk Perception in the Belief in COVID-19 Conspiracy
Zeng, Z., Ding, Y., Zhang, Y., & Guo, Y. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19095396 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and vaccinations: A conceptual replication study in Turkey
Pivetti, M., Paleari, F. G., Ertan, I., Battista, S. D., & ULUKÖK, E. (2023) · Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology · doi:10.1177/18344909231170097 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“In a predominantly Muslim country such as Turkey, religiosity, right-wing ideology, and a lower level of cognitive re ﬂ ection were associated with a higher level of belief in COVID-related conspiracy theories (Alper et al., 2021).”
BackgroundResult
Moral foundations are better predictors of belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories than the Big Five personality traits
Nejat, P., Heirani-Tabas, A., & Nazarpour, M. M. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1201695 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“, 2021), others found women (Erceg et al., 2020; Alper et al., 2021; Vranic et al., 2022) or men (Cassese et al.”
Background
A moderated mediation effect of symbolic and substantive preventive actions on employees’ preventive behavior in the context of Covid‐19
Nawaz, A., Soomro, S. A., Batool, S., Shaikh, H. R., & Aslam, A. (2022) · Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy · doi:10.1111/asap.12337 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Following the COVID19 playbook and battling another infodemic: Conspiracy beliefs around human Monkeypox among the Lebanese populationPreprint
Youssef, D., Abboud, E., & Bleibel, L. (2022) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2020448/v1 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Readiness for influenza and COVID-19 vaccination in Germany: a comparative analysis
Schulz, A. A., Abt, Y., von Oppen, L., & Wirtz, M. A. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1437942 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“Across different countries, varying levels of trust in government, healthcare systems, and social influences were found to be determinants of vaccine acceptance (Abate et al., 2024; Alper et al., 2020; Shi et al., 2024; Huang et al., 2022; Leong et al., 2022; Rosen et al., 2021).”
Background

Belief in COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories and Its CorrelatesPreprint
Yilmaz, O., Bayrak, F., & Alper, S. (2020) · OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)
Associations between Conspiracy Ideation, Covid-19 Conspiracy Ideation with Adherence to Preventive Measures among Adults in Kuwait: A Cross-Sectional Study
Alajmi, N. K., & Albatineh, A. N. (2024) · Journal of Biostatistics and Epidemiology · doi:10.18502/jbe.v9i4.16669
Examining the Role of COVID-19 Conspiracy Beliefs in Predicting Vaccination Intentions, Preventive Behavior and Willingness to Share Opinions about the Coronavirus
Zelič, Ž., Berič, M., & Grum, D. K. (2022) · Studia Psychologica · doi:10.31577/sp.2022.01.844 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Psychological Correlates of COVID-19 Conspiracy Beliefs and Preventive MeasuresPreprint
Alper, S., Bayrak, F., & Yılmaz, O. (2020)
Psychological foundations and behavioral consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy theory beliefs: The Turkish case
Erişen, C. (2022) · International Political Science Review · doi:10.1177/01925121221084625 · Cited by 24 · see citing works

Authors: Alper, S., Bayrak, F., & Yilmaz, O.
Affiliations: Yaşar University (TR)
Başkent University (TR)
Corresponding author: Alper, Sinan
ORCID: Alper, Sinan
Bayrak, Fatih
Venue: Current Psychology
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published: 2020-06-29
Volume: 40
Issue: 11
Pages: 5708-5717
ISSN: 1046-1310 (ISSN-L)
1936-4733
DOI: 10.1007/s12144-020-00903-0
PMC: PMC7324005
OpenAlex: W3037825161
Cited by: 192
References: 62
Citations by year: 2026: 9 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 64 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 7
FWCI: 47.57
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: bronze
doi.org
Licence: www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
www.springer.com/tdm (vor)
Locations: Current Psychology (publishedVersion)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
Social Sciences › Communication › Communication and COVID-19 Impact
Keywords: COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, preventive measures, COVID-19 pandemic, faith in intuition, uncertainty avoidance, impulsivity, religiosity, right-wing ideology, cognitive reflection, risk perception, individual differences, Turkey

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Psychological correlates of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and preventive measures: evidence from turkey.

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