In addition to endangering others, people who believe that COVID-19 is a conspiracy are also putting themselves in danger. They are more susceptible to Corona positive than those who do not believe in conspiracies.
A new study shows how such beliefs can influence and predict people's behavior, potentially giving them greater exposure to the threat of infection, and more. These findings are reported in Psychological Medicine as reported by Science Alert, Monday (10/25/2021).
"Even if a conspiracy theory is grossly implausible according to logic or scientific evidence, if it appears real to the viewer it has a real impact on attitudes, emotions, and behavior," the researchers explain in a paper led by lead author and social psychologist Jan- Willem van Prooijen from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
This phenomenon has also been demonstrated in many studies, showing that the way people think affects their behavior in various ways. To explore this, van Prooijen and colleagues surveyed 5,745 participants in a panel weighted to represent a large sample of the Dutch population.
At the start of the pandemic (April 2020), researchers asked a number of questions that measured their level of belief in the COVID-19 conspiracy theory. One of the questions includes whether they think the Corona Virus is a biological weapon engineered by scientists, a conspiracy to take away citizens' rights or cover up the impending global economic crash.
Months later, the same group was surveyed again, this time answering questions about whether they had ever been tested for COVID-19, whether the test was positive or negative, and whether they had ever violated COVID-19 regulations, among many others.
The results showed that conspiracy theorists were more likely to have COVID-19 or positive for SARS-CoV-2 compared to participants who did not have such beliefs.
In addition, conspirators are more likely to lose their jobs and income during the pandemic. The data show that they are also more likely to experience social rejection, possibly because of their views.
But keep in mind that there are limits to what conclusions we can draw from this study. The researchers emphasize that their experiment cannot be generalized. There are other unmeasured factors that can ultimately be responsible for the results seen in the data.
Pandemic
It should also be noted that although this is a large survey, it is still only a handful of representatives, and only respondents in the Netherlands. Moreover, few in the Netherlands believe that COVID-19 is a conspiracy.
Despite those limitations, the researchers caution that belief in COVID-19 conspiracies can ultimately result in serious, even dangerous, harm to individuals.
"Those who believe in conspiracy theories at the start of the pandemic, 8 months later suffer the impact on their health and well-being," the team wrote.