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The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions
Open accessAbstract
The current studies investigated the potential impact of anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs, and exposure to anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, on vaccination intentions. In Study 1, British parents completed a questionnaire measuring beliefs in anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and the likelihood that they would have a fictitious child vaccinated. Results revealed a significant negative relationship between anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs and vaccination intentions. This effect was mediated by the perceived dangers of vaccines, and feelings of powerlessness, disillusionment and mistrust in authorities. In Study 2, participants were exposed to information that either supported or refuted anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, or a control condition. Results revealed that participants who had been exposed to material supporting anti-vaccine conspiracy theories showed less intention to vaccinate than those in the anti-conspiracy condition or controls. This effect was mediated by the same variables as in Study 1. These findings point to the potentially detrimental consequences of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, and highlight their potential role in shaping health-related behaviors.
Overview
AI snapshot
Written from the paper’s full text.
TL;DR
Two studies show that anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs and exposure to anti-vaccine conspiracy material are associated with lower intentions to vaccinate a fictitious child. These effects were mediated by perceived vaccine dangers, powerlessness, disillusionment, and mistrust in authorities.
Key findings
- In Study 1, anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs significantly negatively predicted vaccination intentions, \(F(1, 87) = 15.97, p < .001, R^2 = .16, \beta = -.63\). Perceived dangers of vaccines, powerlessness, disillusionment, and trust in authorities each significantly mediated this relationship.
- In Study 2, vaccination intentions were significantly lower in the pro-conspiracy condition (\(M = 4.87, SD = 1.74\)) than in the anti-conspiracy condition (\(M = 5.69, SD = 1.31, p = .003\)) and the control condition (\(M = 5.47, SD = 1.50, p = .028\)), overall \(F(2, 185) = 4.81, p = .009, \eta^2 = .05\).
- The manipulation check showed higher endorsement of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories in the pro-conspiracy condition (\(M = 4.11, SD = 1.41\)) than the anti-conspiracy condition (\(M = 2.93, SD = 1.14, p < .001\)) and control condition (\(M = 3.56, SD = 1.21, p = .014\)).
- Perceived vaccine dangers consistently mediated the effects; powerlessness and disillusionment mediated the pro- versus anti-conspiracy difference, and trust in authorities mediated the pro-conspiracy versus control difference.
Methods
- Study 1 used a correlational online questionnaire with 89 British parents (\(80\) women, \(9\) men; \(M\) age \(= 38.06, SD = 9.25\)). Participants completed measures of anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs, perceived dangers, powerlessness, disillusionment, trust in authorities, and intention to vaccinate a fictitious 8-month-old child against a made-up disease, dysomeria.
- Study 2 recruited 246 U.S. MTurk participants, with a final analyzed sample of 188 after screening exclusions. Participants were randomly assigned to pro-conspiracy, anti-conspiracy, or control information, then completed the same mediator measures and vaccination intention measure.
- Both studies used bootstrapping mediation analyses with 5000 bootstrap samples; Study 2 used ANOVA and indicator-coded mediation to compare the three conditions.
Limitations
- The paper states that effect sizes were small (e.g., \(\eta^2 = .05\) in Study 2), conspiracy endorsement was generally around or below the midpoint except in the pro-conspiracy condition (\(M = 4.11\)), the mediation pattern was less clear in Study 2, and findings relied on self-reported intentions for a fictional child and made-up disease rather than actual vaccination behavior.
- The paper notes that future research should examine larger samples, actual vaccination behavior, additional or isolated mediators, and geographical areas with dangerously low vaccination uptake.
- Evident from the text: Study 1 is correlational and cannot establish causality, and both studies use hypothetical vaccination scenarios, which may limit ecological validity.
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A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Results revealed a significant negative relationship between anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs and vaccination intentions.”
- Also stated in: § Results and Discussion · plain
“As predicted, regression analyses revealed that anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs were a significant negative predictor of vaccination intentions, F(1, 87) = 15.97, p<.001, R2 = .16, β = −.63, t = − 3.10, p<. 001.”
- Also stated in: § Results and Discussion · plain
“Participants who endorsed anti-vaccine conspiracy theories to a greater extent indicated less intention to vaccinate.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes- Also stated in: § Results and Discussion · plain
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“As shown in Table 2, anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs were a significant predictor of perceived dangers of vaccines, and feelings of powerlessness, disillusionment and trust in authorities, F(5, 83) = 120.37, p<.001, R2 = .58; F(5, 83) = 41.70, p<.001, R2 = .32; F(5, 83) = 74.43, p<.001, R2 = .46; F(5, 83) = 23.00, p<.001, R2 = .20, respectively.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 1 > Results and Discussion
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Results revealed that participants who had been exposed to material supporting anti-vaccine conspiracy theories showed less intention to vaccinate than those in the anti-conspiracy condition or controls.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“This effect was mediated by the same variables as in Study 1.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“This effect was mediated by the perceived dangers of vaccines, and feelings of powerlessness, disillusionment and mistrust in authorities.”
- Also stated in: § Results and Discussion · hedged
“The multiple mediation analysis of the effect of anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs on vaccination intentions indicated that perceived dangers of vaccines and feelings of powerlessness, disillusionment and trust in authorities (controlling for each other) were each significant mediators of this effect.”
- Also stated in: § Results and Discussion · plain
“When all factors were taken into account, each was a significant mediator of the relationship between anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs and vaccination intentions.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes- Also stated in: § Results and Discussion · hedged
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“As shown in Table 2, anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs were a significant predictor of perceived dangers of vaccines, and feelings of powerlessness, disillusionment and trust in authorities, F(5, 83) = 120.37, p<.001, R2 = .58; F(5, 83) = 41.70, p<.001, R2 = .32; F(5, 83) = 74.43, p<.001, R2 = .46; F(5, 83) = 23.00, p<.001, R2 = .20, respectively.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 1 > Results and Discussion
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“As shown in Table 2, anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs were a significant predictor of perceived dangers of vaccines, and feelings of powerlessness, disillusionment and trust in authorities, F(5, 83) = 120.37, p<.001, R2 = .58; F(5, 83) = 41.70, p<.001, R2 = .32; F(5, 83) = 74.43, p<.001, R2 = .46; F(5, 83) = 23.00, p<.001, R2 = .20, respectively.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 1 > Results and Discussion
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The results of this analysis therefore support the use of four separate mediators.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 1 > Results and Discussion
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Finally, results revealed no significant difference in trust in authorities between conditions, F(2, 185) = 2.32, p = .10, η2 = .03.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 2 > Results and Discussion
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Perceived dangers were higher in the pro-conspiracy condition (M = 4.00, SD = 1.46) than the anti-conspiracy condition (M = 2.97, SD = 1.42, p<.001) and the control condition (M = 2.39, SD = 1.71, p = .021).”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 2 > Results and Discussion
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
- Probably not a substantial claim. 18
- It may state two separate claims as one. 9
- The quote only partly states this claim. 2
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“There were eight statements (e.g., “Vaccines lead to allergies”, α = .86)”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 1 > Methods
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Participants were asked to read the statements (e.g., “I feel that my actions will not stop the negative outcomes of immunizations”, α = .82)”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 1 > Methods
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“consisted of four statements (e.g., “I am very disappointed with those who are involved in immunizations (e.g., the government, pharmaceutical companies)”, α = .89)”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 1 > Methods
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“and also that feelings of political powerlessness mediate the relationship between exposure to conspiracy theories and voting intentions [22].”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [22] Jolley D, Douglas KM (2013) The social consequences of conspiracism: Exposure to conspiracy theories decreases the intention to engage in politics and to reduce one’s carbon footprint. Br J Psychol: in press. doi:10.1111/bjop.12018. source
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“Further, polls demonstrate that more than 20% of respondents endorse the idea that there is a link between childhood vaccines and autism [13].”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [13] Public Policy Polling (2013) Democrats and Republicans differ on conspiracy theory beliefs. Available: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_National_ConspiracyTheories_040213.pdf. Accessed: 2013 Nov 27.
Strength:boosted· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“Previous research has demonstrated that exposure to conspiracy theories increases political disillusionment [22]”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [22] Jolley D, Douglas KM (2013) The social consequences of conspiracism: Exposure to conspiracy theories decreases the intention to engage in politics and to reduce one’s carbon footprint. Br J Psychol: in press. doi:10.1111/bjop.12018. source
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Endorsement of these conspiracy theories amongst African Americans has been found to be associated with negative attitudes towards contraceptive behaviors, which may potentially expose people to the risk of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted illnesses [23], [24], [25].”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [23] ST Bird, 2003, Birth control conspiracy beliefs, perceived discrimination, and contraception among African Americans, Journal of Health Psychology source
- Not checked yetcites [24] LM Bogart, 2006, Relationship of African Americans’ socio demographic characteristics to belief in conspiracies about HIV/AIDS and birth control, Journal of the National Medical Association
- Not checked yetcites [25] MA Hoyt, 2012, HIV/AIDS-related institutional mistrust among multiethnic men who have sex with men: Effects on HIV testing and risk behaviors, Health Psychology source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The order of measures was counterbalanced.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 1 > Methods
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The study was approved by the Psychology Ethics Committee at the University of Kent and all participants provided their written, informed consent.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 1 > Methods
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“There were two trust sources (corporations and government; Spearman-Brown Coefficient = .82)”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 1 > Methods
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. The quote only partly states this claim.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Also, exposure to conspiracy theories has been found to have detrimental effects in other domains, such as reducing pro-environmental intentions and willingness to engage in politics [21], [22].”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [21] LD Butler, 1995, The psychological impact of viewing the film JFK: Emotions, beliefs and political behavioral intentions, Political Psychology source
- Not checked yetcites [22] Jolley D, Douglas KM (2013) The social consequences of conspiracism: Exposure to conspiracy theories decreases the intention to engage in politics and to reduce one’s carbon footprint. Br J Psychol: in press. doi:10.1111/bjop.12018. source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“In Study 2, feelings of powerlessness and disillusionment mediated the difference between the pro- and anti-conspiracy conditions, and mistrust in authorities mediated the difference between the pro-conspiracy and control conditions.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > General Discussion
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“This means that the proportion of variance in vaccine intentions explained by exposure to conspiracy theories was quite modest and there are potentially many other factors that contribute to vaccine intentions.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > General Discussion
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The final sample size used for data analysis was therefore 188 (112 women and 76 men, M age = 36.33, SD = 13.40).”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 2 > Methods
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedn = 188Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Further, feelings of powerlessness and disillusionment mediated the difference between the pro- and anti-conspiracy conditions, and mistrust in authorities mediated the difference between the pro-conspiracy and control conditions.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 2 > Results and Discussion
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“There were 60 participants in the pro-conspiracy condition, 62 in the anti-conspiracy condition, and 66 in the control condition.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 2 > Methods
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedn = 60Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“As is well known, intentions do not always translate into behaviors [47], [48], [49].”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > General Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [47] RT LaPiere, 1934, Attitudes vs. actions, Social Forces source
- Not checked yetcites [48] LS Linn, 1965, Verbal attitudes and overt behavior: A study of racial discrimination, Social Forces source
- Not checked yetcites [49] Sheeran P (2002) Intention-behavior relations: A conceptual and empirical review. In: Stroebe W, Hewstone M, editors. European Review of Social Psychology. Chichester, UK: Wiley. Vol. 12, 1–36. source
Load-bearingStrength:boosted· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“Similarly, different strategies for successful intervention may apply for people who hold strong anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs than those who do not hold strong beliefs [44].”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > General Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [44] CR Sunstein, 2009, Conspiracy theories: Causes and cures, J Polit Philos source
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:conditional· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✗ Checkable: fails✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Psychologists are learning more about the traits and characteristics associated with beliefs in conspiracy theories more generally, such as mistrust, anomie, political cynicism and Machiavellianism [8], [20], [31], [50]”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > General Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [8] T Goertzel, 1994, Belief in conspiracy theories, Polit Psychol source
- Not checked yetcites [20] KM Douglas, 2008, The hidden impact of conspiracy theories: Perceived and actual influence of theories surrounding the death of Princess Diana, Br J Soc Psychol source
- Not checked yetcites [31] M Abalakina-Paap, 1999, Beliefs in conspiracies, Political Psychology source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Specifically, they appear to reduce vaccination intentions by inducing undue concern about the dangers of vaccines, and increasing powerlessness, disillusionment, and mistrust.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > General Discussion
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Therefore, the participants were not strong endorsers of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, meaning that different patterns of findings may emerge for those who do strongly endorse conspiracy theories.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > General Discussion
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Therefore, overall, anti-vaccine conspiracy theories appear to introduce undue suspicion about vaccine safety, and increase feelings of powerlessness and disillusionment, whilst decreasing trust in authorities, which in turn introduce reluctance to vaccinate.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > General Discussion
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 2 > Methods
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The study was approved by the Psychology Ethics Committee at the University of Kent and all participants provided their written, informed consent.”
§ The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions > Study 1 > Methods
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✗ Asserted: fails✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✗ Based: failsProbably not a substantial claim. The authors may not put it forward as true. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. The paper may give no reason why it holds. It may state two separate claims as one. The quote only partly states this claim.
The paper relies on this without support.
The measured mediators (perceived vaccine dangers, powerlessness, disillusionment, and trust in authorities) are causally prior to and influence vaccination intentions, as required for the mediation analysis.
“Each of the candidate mediators was then examined in a test of mediation in order to explain the effect of the conspiracy conditions (pro-conspiracy versus anti-conspiracy, versus control) on vaccination intentions.”
Statistics recomputed
Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.
- Consistentχ²(136) = 4544.44reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“X 2 (136) = 4544.44, p < .001”
- ConsistentF(1, 87) = 15.97reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(1, 87) = 15.97, p < .001”
- ConsistentF(5, 83) = 120.37reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(5, 83) = 120.37, p < .001”
- ConsistentF(5, 83) = 41.7reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(5, 83) = 41.70, p < .001”
- ConsistentF(5, 83) = 74.43reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(5, 83) = 74.43, p < .001”
- ConsistentF(5, 83) = 23reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(5, 83) = 23.00, p < .001”
- ConsistentF(2, 185) = 4.81reported p = .009 · recomputed p = .009
“F(2, 185) = 4.81, p = .009”
- ConsistentF(2, 185) = 7.61reported p = .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(2, 185) = 7.61, p = .001”
- ConsistentF(2, 185) = 3.44reported p = .034 · recomputed p = .034
“F(2, 185) = 3.44, p = .034”
- ConsistentF(2, 185) = 7.46reported p = .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(2, 185) = 7.46, p = .001”
- ConsistentF(2, 185) = 2.32reported p = .1 · recomputed p = .101
“F(2, 185) = 2.32, p = .10”
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Table 1 gives two values for the same intention-danger correlation
MinorThe intention row reports its correlation with dangers as −.49, while the dangers row reports the same correlation as −.48.
“| (2) Immunisation intention | 5.63 (1.42) | −.40*** | – | −.49*** | .29** | −.36*** | .20¥ |”
“| (3) Dangers | 2.97 (1.37) | .76*** | −.48*** | – | .58*** | .60*** | −.48*** |”
Study 1 regression t and F statistics disagree
MinorFor a regression with one predictor, F equals t squared. The reported t of −3.10 gives F = 9.61, not 15.97.
Reported 15.97 · recomputed 9.61
“F(1, 87) = 15.97, p<.001, R2 = .16, β = −.63, t = − 3.10, p<. 001.”
Table 1 gives two values for the same danger-disillusionment correlation
MinorThe dangers row reports the correlation with disillusionment as .60, while the disillusionment row reports it as .59.
“| (3) Dangers | 2.97 (1.37) | .76*** | −.48*** | – | .58*** | .60*** | −.48*** |”
“| (5) Disillusionment | 2.45 (1.40) | .68*** | −.36*** | .59*** | .59*** | – | −.41*** |”
Study 1 standardized coefficient conflicts with its correlation
MinorIn a regression with one predictor, the standardized coefficient β equals the predictor-outcome correlation. The regression reports β = −.63, while Table 1 reports −.40.
“β = −.63”
“| (1) Anti-vaccine conspiracy belief | 2.00 (.89) | – | −.40*** | .76*** | .57*** | .68*** | −.46*** |”
Study 1 mediator regressions have incompatible degrees of freedom
MinorThe text describes four separate regressions, each with anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs as the predictor and one mediator as the outcome. Each would have one predictor degree of freedom, not the reported five.
“F(5, 83) = 120.37, p<.001, R2 = .58; F(5, 83) = 41.70, p<.001, R2 = .32; F(5, 83) = 74.43, p<.001, R2 = .46; F(5, 83) = 23.00, p<.001, R2 = .20, respectively.”
“Table: Table 2 Four separate regressions examining anti-conspiracy belief as predictor, and four mediator variables as criterions.”
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Min, S. J. (2021) · American Politics Research · doi:10.1177/1532673x211013526 · Cited by 70
“…in the case of the so-called “antivaxxers” who refuse to vaccinate their children because of their belief in the theory that vaccines cause autism (Jolley & Douglas, 2014), or the conspiracy theory-influenced capital rioters in Washington, D.C. in 2021 who violently stormed into the democratic…”
BackgroundVax attacks: How conspiracy theory belief undermines vaccine support
Farhart, C. E., Douglas-Durham, E., Trujillo, K. L., & Vitriol, J. A. (2022) · Progress in molecular biology and translational science · doi:10.1016/bs.pmbts.2021.11.001 · Cited by 80
Fact vs Fallacy: The Anti-Vaccine Discussion Reloaded
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“For example, exposure to conspiracy theories has been shown to influence people’s intentions to vote and engage in climate-friendly behaviours (Jolley & Douglas, 2014a), and to vaccinate their children (Jolley & Douglas, 2014b).”
Self-citationTrujillo, K. L., Motta, M., Callaghan, T., & Sylvester, S. M. (2020) · Political Research Quarterly · doi:10.1177/1065912920907695 · Cited by 66
“The endorsement of the belief that vaccines cause autism is also high in other countries not studied here and prominent antivax movements exist in other countries (Hornsey, Harris, and Fielding 2018; Jolley and Douglas 2014).”
BackgroundSu, Y., Lee, D. K. L., Xiao, X., Li, W., & Shu, W. (2021) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2021.106760 · Cited by 67
There are higher levels of conspiracy beliefs in more corrupt countries
Alper, S. (2022) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2919 · Cited by 67
Krishna, A. (2017) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2017.1331307 · Cited by 67
“However, much of the empirical research, particularly about parental rejection of childhood vaccines tends to be based in the UK (e.g., Jolley & Douglas, 2014), and few have attempted to understand the relationships among trust in various institutions, vaccine negative attitudes, and behavioral…”
BackgroundInfluentialRossen, I., Hurlstone, M. J., & Lawrence, C. M. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01483 · Cited by 71
“Given the widespread myths and misinformation surrounding childhood vaccination (Betsch et al., 2010; Kata, 2010; Jolley and Douglas, 2014), it is easy to see the intuitive appeal of this approach.”
BackgroundWirawan, G. B. S., Mahardani, P. N. T. Y., Cahyani, M. R. K., Laksmi, N. L. P. S. P., & Januraga, P. P. (2021) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.110995 · Cited by 72
Health disinformation & social media
Grimes, D. R. (2020) · EMBO Reports · doi:10.15252/embr.202051819 · Cited by 65
Bertin, P., Nera, K., Hamer, K., Uhl-Haedicke, I., & Delouvée, S. (2021) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430221992114 · Cited by 66
A taxonomy of anti-vaccination arguments from a systematic literature review and text modelling
Fasce, A., Schmid, P., Holford, D. L., Bates, L., Gurevych, I., & Lewandowsky, S. (2023) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-023-01644-3 · Cited by 72
Conspiracy theories and their societal effects during the COVID-19 pandemic
Pummerer, L., Böhm, R., Lilleholt, L., Winter, K., Zettler, I., & Sassenberg, K. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/y5grn · Cited by 67
Who Are Conspiracy Theorists? A Comprehensive Approach to Explaining Conspiracy Beliefs
Enders, A. M., & Smallpage, S. M. (2019) · Social Science Quarterly · doi:10.1111/ssqu.12711 · Cited by 63
Belief in Science Influences Physical Distancing in Response to COVID-19 Lockdown Policies
Brzezinski, A., Kecht, V., Dijcke, D. V., & Wright, A. L. (2020) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-021-01227-0 · Cited by 172
DiMaggio, A. R. (2022) · Critical Sociology · doi:10.1177/08969205211073669 · Cited by 68
“…never landed on the moon or the JFK conspiracy, others are high stakes and involve potential life and death issues, for example, those related to beliefs about health care, disease outbreaks, vaccination against deadly diseases, and climate change (Jolley and Douglas, 2014; Jolley et al., 2020).”
BackgroundKay, C. S. (2020) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110543 · Cited by 70
Allington, D., Buarque, B., & Flores, D. B. (2020) · Language and Literature International Journal of Stylistics · doi:10.1177/0963947020971997 · Cited by 62
“…to reduce intention to vaccinate children, as well as to reduce trust in authorities and increase feelings of powerlessness and disillusionment (Jolley & Douglas, 2014a), while exposure to governmental conspiracy fantasies has been found to reduce intentions to engage in politics, and exposure…”
BackgroundCOVID-19 vaccine rollout risk communication strategies in Europe: a rapid response
Warren, G. W., & Löfstedt, R. E. (2021) · Journal of Risk Research · doi:10.1080/13669877.2020.1870533 · Cited by 62
Cause and effect: On the antecedents and consequences of conspiracy theory beliefs
Uscinski, J. E., Enders, A. M., Klofstad, C., & Stoler, J. B. (2022) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101364 · Cited by 62
Conspiracy beliefs and science rejection
(2022) · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101392 · Cited by 62
Psychology and politics of COVID-19 misinfodemics: Why and how do people believe in misinfodemics?
Mukhtar, S. (2020) · International Sociology · doi:10.1177/0268580920948807 · Cited by 61
“Misinfodemics, especially those which revolve around science, medicine and health-related topics, are widespread and prompting people to eschew appropriate healthrelated behaviors (Jolley and Douglas, 2014; Oliver and Wood, 2014).”
BackgroundNohl, A., Afflerbach, C., Lurz, C., Brune, B., Ohmann, T., Weichert, V., Zeiger, S., & Dudda, M. (2021) · Vaccines · doi:10.3390/vaccines9050424 · Cited by 63
Tonković, M., Dumančić, F., Jelić, M., & Biruški, D. Č. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643568 · Cited by 88
Dada, J. T., Ajide, F. M., Arnaut, M., & Adeiza, A. (2022) · International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology · doi:10.1080/13504509.2022.2115576 · Cited by 61
“hypothesis of the existence of CD in the series. Four different CD tests – Pesaran (2004); Pesaran et al. (2008); Breusch and Pagan (1980); and Baltagi et al.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialCookson, D., Jolley, D., Dempsey, R. C., & Povey, R. C. (2021) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430221993907 · Cited by 60
Self-citationEnea, V., Eisenbeck, N., Carreno, D. F., Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., Agostini, M., Bélanger, J., Gützkow, B., Kreienkamp, J., Abakoumkin, G., et al. (2022) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2021.2018179 · Cited by 57
Self-citationOn the search for environmental sustainability in Africa: the role of governance
Adekunle, I. A. (2020) · Environmental Science and Pollution Research · doi:10.1007/s11356-020-11432-5 · Cited by 71
SARS‐CoV‐2, Covid‐19, and the debunking of conspiracy theories
Hakim, M. S. (2021) · Reviews in Medical Virology · doi:10.1002/rmv.2222 · Cited by 64
“A study reported that anti‐vaccine conspiracy beliefs and exposure to anti‐vaccine conspiracy theories negatively associate with vaccine intentions.(98) The effect of an anti‐vaccine campaign could be seen from the survey, which showed that only 60% of the”
BackgroundConspiracy Beliefs and Acceptance of COVID-Vaccine: An Exploratory Study in Italy
Pivetti, M., Melotti, G., Bonomo, M., & Hakoköngäs, E. J. (2021) · Social Sciences · doi:10.3390/socsci10030108 · Cited by 67
“Exposure to information supporting conspiracy theories has been found to reduce intentions to engage in politics and civic behavior such as vaccinations (Jolley and Douglas 2014a, 2014b).”
BackgroundNera, K., & Schöpfer, C. (2023) · Theory & Psychology · doi:10.1177/09593543231155891 · Cited by 59
Juanchich, M., Sirota, M., Jolles, D., & Whiley, L. A. (2021) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2796 · Cited by 70
“Con- spiracy believers tend to perceive that vaccines are dangerous, which partly explains their reluctance to be vaccinated (Jolley & Douglas, 2014).”
BackgroundInfluentialWho Believes in Conspiracy Theories in Great Britain and Europe?
Drochon, H. H. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0022 · Cited by 62
Exploring childhood vaccination themes and public opinions on Twitter: A semantic network analysis
Featherstone, J. D., Ruiz, J. B., Barnett, G. A., & Millam, B. J. (2020) · Telematics and Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.tele.2020.101474 · Cited by 56
“Conspiracy theorists believe, and promote the idea that Wakefield is being silenced by government agencies and the pharmaceutical industry, a common vaccine myth perpetuated on the internet (Jolley and Douglas, 2014) by influential users, organizations, and parents alike (Smith, 2017).”
BackgroundThe golden age of anti-vaccine conspiracies
Stein, R. A. (2017) · GERMS · doi:10.18683/germs.2017.1122 · Cited by 56
“ Historia est magistra vitae ”? The impact of historical victimhood on current conspiracy beliefs
Pantazi, M., Gkinopoulos, T., Witkowska, M., Klein, O., & Bilewicz, M. (2020) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430220968898 · Cited by 68
“Such conspiratorial cognitions may result in abstention from political action, or health-promoting behaviors (Jolley & Douglas, 2014a, 2014b).”
Xu, Z., & Guo, H. (2017) · Communication Studies · doi:10.1080/10510974.2017.1414068 · Cited by 55
“People who are exposed to anti-vaccine conspiracy theories are found to have less intention to vaccinate (Jolley & Douglas, 2014).”
BackgroundMistrust, uncertainty and health risks
Breakwell, G. M. (2020) · Contemporary Social Science · doi:10.1080/21582041.2020.1804070 · Cited by 63
Wakefield, J. R. H., & Khauser, A. (2021) · Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/casp.2542 · Cited by 55
“People who endorse conspiracy theories tend to possess low levels of trust in their communities (Goertzel, 1994), feelings of powerlessness (Jolley & Douglas, 2014) and have a general sense of disconnection from wider society, as well as experiencing high levels of loneliness and psychological…”
Biddlestone, M., Green, R., Douglas, K. M., Azevedo, F., Sutton, R. M., & Cichocka, A. K. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/rxjqc · Cited by 55
Self-citationOswald, S., Lewiński, M., Greco, S., & Villata, S. (2022) · Argumentation library · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-91017-4 · Cited by 60
How Believing Climate Change is a “Hoax” Shapes Climate Skepticism in the United States
Sarathchandra, D., & Haltinner, K. (2020) · Environmental Sociology · doi:10.1080/23251042.2020.1855884 · Cited by 57
“It is also correlated with a decrease in one’s tendency to vote and vaccinate their children (Jolley and Douglas 2014).”
BackgroundLantian, A., Müller, D., Nurra, C., Klein, O., Berjot, S., & Pantazi, M. (2018) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/bgzt4 · Cited by 53
Facing disinformation: Five methods to counter conspiracy theories amid the Covid-19 pandemic
Guan, T., Liu, T.-Y., & Yuan, R.-D. (2021) · Comunicar · doi:10.3916/c69-2021-06 · Cited by 17
“…that exposure to conspiracy theories can: directly increase negative feelings of powerlessness, disillusionment, uncertainty, mistrust, and anomie (Jolley & Douglas, 2014); decrease individual’s trust in the government and political engagements such as voting (Einstein & Glick, 2015); interfere…”
Ripp, T., & Röer, J. P. (2022) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-022-00771-2 · Cited by 57
“Furthermore, conspiracy belief correlates with concerns towards vaccination and lowers vaccination willingness [12, 14, 15].”
InfluentialThe pervasiveness and policy consequences of medical folk wisdom in the U.S.
Motta, M., & Callaghan, T. (2020) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-020-67744-6 · Cited by 53
Jia, H., & Luo, X. (2021) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2021.1958982 · Cited by 53
“Belief in such theories negatively impacts people’s health behaviors concerning vaccination (Hornsey et al., 2018a; Jolley & Douglas, 2014) and condom use (Grebe & Nattrass, 2012).”
BackgroundCookson, D., Jolley, D., Dempsey, R. C., & Povey, R. C. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0258985 · Cited by 53
“Immediately after the intervention, all the dependent variables were measured again; the Belief in Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories Scale [25] from participants own point of view (Time 2 α = .97) and from the perspective of other UK parents (Time 2 α = .97); and the intention to vaccinate from their own point of view…”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialSelf-citationGronfeldt, B., Cisłak, A., Sternisko, A., Eker, İ., & Cichocka, A. K. (2022) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/01461672221074790 · Cited by 56
“Vaccinations are a politically sensitive subject, as widespread conspiratorial beliefs are associated with them (Jolley & Douglas, 2014).”
BackgroundGrimes, D. R., Brennan, L. J., & O'Connor, R. A. (2020) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035626 · Cited by 51
Vaccine Hesitancy in Pediatrics
Lafnitzegger, A., & Gaviria-Agudelo, C. (2022) · Advances in Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/j.yapd.2022.03.011 · Cited by 54
Kay, C. S. (2021) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2021.104128 · Cited by 58
Unfounded beliefs among teachers: The interactive role of rationality priming and cognitive ability
Adam‐Troian, J., Caroti, D., Arciszewski, T., & Ståhl, T. (2019) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3547 · Cited by 50
Braddock, K. H. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108584517 · Cited by 61
Broniatowski, D. A., Jamison, A., Johnson, N. F., Velásquez, N., Leahy, R., Restrepo, N. J., Dredze, M. H., & Quinn, S. C. (2020) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2020.305869 · Cited by 53
Here we go again: the reemergence of anti-vaccine activism on the Internet
de Camargo, K. R. (2020) · Cadernos de Saúde Pública · doi:10.1590/0102-311x00037620 · Cited by 48
Marchlewska, M., Hamer, K., Baran, M., Górska, P., & Kaniasty, K. Z. (2022) · Vaccines · doi:10.3390/vaccines10020268 · Cited by 50
“COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy beliefs were measured with 5-item scale on the basis of the scale of vaccination conspiracy beliefs previously used by Jolley and Douglas [56]: “COVID-19 vaccines are harmful, and this fact is covered up”; “Tiny devices are placed in COVID-19 vaccines to track people”; “Pharmaceutical compa…”
MethodHughes, J. P., Efstratiou, A., Komer, S. R., Baxter, L. A., Vasiljevic, M., & Leite, A. C. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0263716 · Cited by 53
“Previous research has found that exposure to conspiracies that are commonplace online, such as climate change denial or vaccination myths, are associated with mistrust in governments [18] and can influence critical medical, political, and environmental behaviours [19, 20].”
BackgroundKantorowicz‐Reznichenko, E., Folmer, C. R., & Kantorowicz, J. (2022) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2022.111666 · Cited by 50
Human Values and Attitudes towards Vaccination in Social Media
Kalimeri, K., Beiró, M. G., Urbinati, A., Bonanomi, A. G., Rosina, A., & Cattuto, C. (2019) · International World Wide Web Conference (WWW) · doi:10.1145/3308560.3316489 · Cited by 48
“ientific evidence[7], an alignment with alternative/complementary or holistic health [28], as well as spiritual and religious identities [7, 28], anti-authoritarian worldviews[7], conspiracy ideation [25], trust and political attitudes [49]. In this study, we operationalise the political viewpoints, moral values, pers…”
MethodDoes deliberation decrease belief in conspiracies?Preprint
Bagó, B., Rand, D. G., & Pennycook, G. (2022) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104395 · Cited by 52
Classified or Coverup? The Effect of Redactions on Conspiracy Theory Beliefs
Nyhan, B. J., Dickinson, F., Dudding, S., Dylgjeri, E., Neiley, E., Pullerits, C., Seog, M., Simpson, A., Szilagyi, H., & Walmsley, C. (2016) · Journal of Experimental Political Science · doi:10.1017/xps.2015.21 · Cited by 46
What Drives Belief in Vaccination Conspiracy Theories in Germany?
Jensen, E., Pfleger, A., Herbig, L., Wagoner, B., Lorenz, L., & Watzlawik, M. (2021) · Frontiers in Communication · doi:10.3389/fcomm.2021.678335 · Cited by 55
“This is in line with previous research reporting a negative Frontiers in Communication | www.frontiersin.org May 2021 | Volume 6 | Article 6783355 relationship between the belief in (vaccination) conspiracies and vaccination intentions in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, and Turkey (Bertin et al., 20…”
BackgroundInfluentialBelief in conspiracy theories and non-normative behavior
Pummerer, L. (2022) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101394 · Cited by 46
Priming Resistance to Persuasion decreases adherence to Conspiracy Theories*
Bonetto, E., Troian, J., Varet, F., Monaco, G. L., & Girandola, F. (2018) · Social Influence · doi:10.1080/15534510.2018.1471415 · Cited by 35
“As we have seen, some interventions are, for obvious reasons, focused on providing individuals with valid information for inoculating them with rational counter arguments prior to conspiracy theories exposure (Jolley & Douglas, 2014b).”
InfluentialLeveraging library trust to combat misinformation on social media
Sullivan, M. C. (2019) · Library & Information Science Research · doi:10.1016/j.lisr.2019.02.004 · Cited by 50
Communicating to the Public in the Era of Conspiracy Theory
Connolly, J. M., Uscinski, J. E., Klofstad, C., & West, J. P. (2019) · Public Integrity · doi:10.1080/10999922.2019.1603045 · Cited by 48
“For example, studies show that exposure to conspiracy theories about climate change or vaccines can reduce people’s intention to limit their carbon footprint or to vaccinate themselves or a child against disease (Jolley & Douglas, 2014; van der Linden, 2015).”
BackgroundBaeza-Rivera, M. J., Salazar-Fernández, C., Leal, L. A., & Manríquez-Robles, D. (2021) · Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology · doi:10.1177/18344909211051799 · Cited by 50
Isah, M. B., Abdulsalam, M., Bello, A., Ibrahim, M. I., Usman, A., Nasir, A., Abdulkadir, B., Usman, A. R., Ibrahim, K. M., Sani, A., et al. (2021) · UMYU Journal of Microbiology Research (UJMR) · doi:10.47430/ujmr.2161.004 · Cited by 47
“long-term control measures, especially vaccines (Jolley and Douglas, 2014).”
BackgroundSocial determinants of adherence to COVID-19 preventive guidelines: a comprehensive review
Shushtari, Z. J., Salimi, Y., Ahmadi, S., Gilan, N. R., Shirazikhah, M., Biglarian, A., Almasi, A., & Gharehghani, M. A. M. (2021) · Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives · doi:10.24171/j.phrp.2021.0180 · Cited by 49
Soto-Vásquez, A. D., Gonzalez, A. A., Shi, W., Garcia, N., & Hernandez, J. (2020) · Howard Journal of Communications · doi:10.1080/10646175.2020.1860839 · Cited by 42
“Contemporary online mediums such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and YouTube can contribute to misinformation spread (Bode & Vraga, 2018; Jolley & Douglas, 2014; Kata, 2010), affect news consumption patterns (Schmidt et al., 2017), and shape people’s risk perceptions (Anderson et al., 2014).”
BackgroundThe Psychological Impacts and Message Features of Health Misinformation
Schmid, P., Altay, S., & Scherer, L. D. (2023) · European Psychologist · doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000494 · Cited by 48
Ophir, Y., & Jamieson, K. H. (2018) · Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdy042 · Cited by 42
Conspiracy theories and reasonable pluralism
Cíbik, M., & Hardoš, P. (2020) · European Journal of Political Theory · doi:10.1177/1474885119899232 · Cited by 42
“While it is certainly true that conspiracy theorizing undermines trust in institutions and lowers political participation (Jolley and Douglas, 2014a), the existence of these effects does not justify the political regime’s trying to suppress them.”
BackgroundThe antidepressant hoax: Conspiracy theories decrease health‐seeking intentions
Natoli, E., & Marques, M. D. (2020) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12426 · Cited by 50
Nath, R., Imtiaz, A., Nath, S. D., & Hasan, E. (2021) · Vaccines · doi:10.3390/vaccines9121405 · Cited by 42
“Young adults buy the conspiracy theories running in the market like the adults in Britain and the United States, which detrimentally affects health and preventive behaviors like their vaccine uptake intention [33,45].”
BackgroundLaurent, C. D. S., Murphy, G., Hegarty, K., & Greene, C. M. (2022) · Cognitive Research Principles and Implications · doi:10.1186/s41235-022-00437-y · Cited by 53
“Jolley and Douglas (2014) proposed one of the first studies of this kind, showing that participants presented with conspiracy theories on vaccines reported reduced intentions to vaccinate a fictitious child than those presented with factual information.”
BackgroundTsamakis, 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 50
“This is in line with pre-COVID-19 experience, as anti-vaccination conspiracy theories have played a detrimental role in negatively shaping health-related behaviours [71] and have been associated with more harmful health-related behaviours in general, such as reduced use of contraception and condoms (2).”
ResultRecent advances in addressing vaccine hesitancy
Braun, C. B., & O’Leary, S. T. (2020) · Current Opinion in Pediatrics · doi:10.1097/mop.0000000000000929 · Cited by 40
Australasian Public Awareness and Belief in Conspiracy Theories: Motivational Correlates
Marques, M. D., Ling, M., Williams, M. N., Kerr, J. R., & McLennan, J. (2021) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12746 · Cited by 51
Hong, Y., & Hashimoto, M. (2021) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2021.1978668 · Cited by 41
“Recently, misinformation and conspiracy theories linking vaccinations to side effects like autism have flourished, increasing vaccine hesitancy even more (Jolley & Douglas, 2014).”
BackgroundInjustice Without Evidence: The Unique Role of Conspiracy Theories in Social Justice Research
van Prooijen, J. (2021) · Social Justice Research · doi:10.1007/s11211-021-00376-x · Cited by 48
“Conspiracy theories about vaccines lower vaccination intentions (Jolley & Douglas, 2014), and conspiracy beliefs about the Covid-19 pandemic decreases physical distancing (Pummerer et al., 2021).”
BackgroundThe History of Conspiracy Theory Research
Bütter, M., & Knight, P. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0002 · Cited by 47
Banai, I. P., Banai, B., & Mikloušić, I. (2020) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/yevq7 · Cited by 41
Burger, R., Köhler, T., Golos, A., Buttenheim, A. M., English, R., Tameris, M. D., & Maughan‐Brown, B. (2022) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-022-12826-5 · Cited by 40
“While it is important to address rumors and misinformation, frequently discussing vaccine scepticism can perversely give credence to myths by creating the impression that these beliefs are widespread and valid [22].”
BackgroundEmotion dysregulation and belief in conspiracy theories
Molenda, Z., Green, R., Marchlewska, M., Cichocka, A., & Douglas, K. M. (2023) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2022.112042 · Cited by 38
Self-citationResources for assessing parents’ vaccine hesitancy: a systematic review of the literature
Cella, P., Voglino, G., Barberis, I., Alagna, E., Alessandroni, C., Cuda, A., D’Aloisio, F., Dallagiacoma, G., Nitto, S. D., Gaspare, F. D., et al. (2019) · Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene · doi:10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2020.61.3.1448 · Cited by 46
“After full text screening selection, 334 studies were included in the descriptive analysis and synthesis [3, 16, 19-350].”
Conspiracy Theories: A Public Health Concern and How to Address It
Leonard, M., & Philippe, F. L. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.682931 · Cited by 40
“For instance, it has been shown that exposure to conspiracy theories decreases the feelings of control and autonomy by increasing perceptions of powerlessness (Jolley and Douglas, 2014a,b; Douglas et al., 2017).”
BackgroundContents of Japanese pro- and anti-HPV vaccination websites: A text mining analysis
Okuhara, T., Ishikawa, H., Okada, M., Kato, M., & Kiuchi, T. (2017) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2017.09.014 · Cited by 40
How Internet Access Drives Global Vaccine Skepticism
Trujillo, K. L., & Motta, M. (2021) · International Journal of Public Opinion Research · doi:10.1093/ijpor/edab012 · Cited by 39
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
Thomas, E. F., Bird, L. H., O'Donnell, A. W., Osborne, D., Buonaiuto, E., Yip, L., Lizzio‐Wilson, M., Wenzel, M., & Skitka, L. J. (2024) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12727 · Cited by 39
Extreme Overvalued Beliefs: How Violent Extremist Beliefs Become “Normalized”
Rahman, T., & Mukherji, E. (2018) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs8010010 · Cited by 39
Košárková, A., Maliňáková, K., van Dijk, J. P., & Tavel, P. (2021) · Vaccines · doi:10.3390/vaccines9101157 · Cited by 40
“Research suggests that beliefs in conspiracy theories (CT) have a negative influence on the health domain [32,34,35], including a harmful effect on vaccine uptake in general [36,37].”
BackgroundButuroiu, R., Udrea, G., Oprea, D.-A., & Corbu, N. (2021) · Societies · doi:10.3390/soc11040138 · Cited by 39
“As emphasized by Jolley and Douglas [19], the anti-vaccine conspiracy movement is built around the argument that big pharmaceutical companies and governments conceal information about vaccine efficacy in order to pursue their own dishonest goals.”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Jolley, D., & Douglas, K. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Kent (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Jolley, Daniel
- Douglas, Karen M.
- Venue
- PLoS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2014-02-20
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- e89177
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3930676
- OpenAlex
- W2016520072
- Cited by
- 1,232
- References
- 49
- Citations by year
- 2026: 68 · 2025: 92 · 2024: 116 · 2023: 147 · 2022: 225 · 2021: 232 · 2020: 147 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 72 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 6
- FWCI
- 89.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Staffordshire Online Repository (Staffordshire University) (acceptedVersion)
- Northumbria Research Link (Northumbria University) (acceptedVersion)
- Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent) (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Lancaster EPrints (Lancaster University) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Repository@Nottingham (University of Nottingham) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
- Social Sciences › Health › Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Risk Perception and Management
- Keywords
- vaccination intention, vaccine hesitancy, powerlessness, misinformation exposure, health behavior, parents
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Child, Preschool, Culture, Female, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Vaccination, Vaccines, Intention
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-09, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).
A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-09 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
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