scholarly journals “I did my own research”: Overconfidence, (dis)trust in science and conspiracy theories endorsement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Vranic ◽  
Ivana Hromatko ◽  
Mirjana Tonković
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Objective Measure ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Reasoning Abilities ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
Health Related

<p>Epistemically suspect beliefs, such as endorsement of conspiracy theories or pseudoscientific claims are widespread even among highly educated individuals. The phenomenon of conspiratorial thinking is not new, yet the COVID-19 pandemic, causing a global health crisis of an unprecedented scale, facilitated the emergence and rapid spread of some rather radical health related pseudoscientific fallacies. Numerous correlates of the tendency to endorse conspiracy theories have already been addressed. However, many of them are not subject to an intervention. Here, we have tested a model that includes predictors ranging across stable characteristics such as demographics (gender, age, education, size of the place of residence), less stable general traits such as conservatism and overconfidence in one’s own reasoning abilities, to relatively changeable worldviews such as trust in science. A hierarchical regression analysis (<i>N</i>=859 participants) showed that included predictors explained a total of 46% of the variance of believing in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, with only gender, overconfidence and trust in science yielding significance. Trust in science was the strongest predictor, implying that campaigns aimed at enhancing public trust in both science as a process, and scientists as individuals conducting it, might contribute to the reduction in susceptibility to pseudoscientific claims. Furthermore, overconfidence in one’s own reasoning abilities was negatively correlated with an objective measure of reasoning (syllogisms test), and positively with the endorsement of conspiracy theories, indicating that so-called Dunning-Kruger effect plays a role in pseudoscientific conspiratorial thinking regarding COVID-19.</p>

scholarly journals “I did my own research”: Overconfidence, (dis)trust in science and conspiracy theories endorsement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Vranic ◽  
Ivana Hromatko ◽  
Mirjana Tonković
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Objective Measure ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Reasoning Abilities ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
Health Related

<p>Epistemically suspect beliefs, such as endorsement of conspiracy theories or pseudoscientific claims are widespread even among highly educated individuals. The phenomenon of conspiratorial thinking is not new, yet the COVID-19 pandemic, causing a global health crisis of an unprecedented scale, facilitated the emergence and rapid spread of some rather radical health related pseudoscientific fallacies. Numerous correlates of the tendency to endorse conspiracy theories have already been addressed. However, many of them are not subject to an intervention. Here, we have tested a model that includes predictors ranging across stable characteristics such as demographics (gender, age, education, size of the place of residence), less stable general traits such as conservatism and overconfidence in one’s own reasoning abilities, to relatively changeable worldviews such as trust in science. A hierarchical regression analysis (<i>N</i>=859 participants) showed that included predictors explained a total of 46% of the variance of believing in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, with only gender, overconfidence and trust in science yielding significance. Trust in science was the strongest predictor, implying that campaigns aimed at enhancing public trust in both science as a process, and scientists as individuals conducting it, might contribute to the reduction in susceptibility to pseudoscientific claims. Furthermore, overconfidence in one’s own reasoning abilities was negatively correlated with an objective measure of reasoning (syllogisms test), and positively with the endorsement of conspiracy theories, indicating that so-called Dunning-Kruger effect plays a role in pseudoscientific conspiratorial thinking regarding COVID-19.</p>

scholarly journals COVID-19 vaccine online misinformation in Fiji: Preliminary findings

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1and2) ◽  
pp. 47-62
Author(s):  
Romitesh Kant ◽  
Rufino Varea ◽  
Jason Titifanue
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Vast Array ◽  
Fertile Ground ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Preliminary Research

Digital media, opens a vast array of avenues for lay people to effectively engage with news, information and debates about important science and health issues. However, they have also become a fertile ground for various stakeholders to spread misinformation and disinformation, stimulate uncivil discussions and engender ill-informed, dangerous public decisions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, antivaccination social media accounts are proliferating online, threatening to further escalate vaccine hesitancy. The pandemic signifies not only a global health crisis, it has also proven to be an infodemic characterised by many conspiracy theories. Prior research indicates that belief in health-related conspiracies can harm efforts to curtail the spread of a virus. This article presents and examines preliminary research findings on COVID-19 vaccine related misinformation being circulated on Fijian Facebook Forums.

scholarly journals Beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories predict lower level of compliance with the preventive measures both directly and indirectly by lowering trust in government medical officials

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irena Pavela Banai ◽  
Benjamin Banai ◽  
Igor Mikloušić
Keyword(s):  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Multiple Mediation ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a global health crisis, making compliance with governmental policies and public health advice crucial in decreasing transmission rates. At the same time, we are faced with the rapid spread of COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the predictive power of COVID-19 conspiracy theories in explaining the level of compliance with official COVID-19 guidelines, by including mediating roles of pseudoscientific information beliefs and trust in government officials. A total of 1882 participants provided sociodemographic information and completed all measures in the study. Multiple mediation analysis revealed a direct negative effect of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs on the compliance with the preventive measures. In addition, conspiracy beliefs were indirectly associated with compliance via trust in government officials. The present study builds upon emerging research showing that conspiracy beliefs have potentially significant social consequences. Practical implications of these findings are further discussed.

scholarly journals Re-thinking Information Ethics: Truth, Conspiracy Theories, and Librarians in the COVID-19 Era

Libri ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Peter Lor ◽  
Bradley Wiles ◽  
Johannes Britz
Keyword(s):  
Public Information ◽  
Information Provision ◽  
Ethical Framework ◽  
Unique Challenge ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
The Public ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Ethical Basis

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic is an international public health crisis without precedent in the last century. The novelty and rapid spread of the virus have added a new urgency to the availability and distribution of reliable information to help curb its fatal potential. As seasoned and trusted purveyors of reliable public information, librarians have attempted to respond to the “infodemic” of fake news, disinformation, and propaganda with a variety of strategies, but the COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique challenge because of the deadly stakes involved. The seriousness of the current situation requires that librarians and associated professionals re-evaluate the ethical basis of their approach to information provision to counter the growing prominence of conspiracy theories in the public sphere and official decision making. This paper analyzes the conspiracy mindset and specific COVID-19 conspiracy theories in discussing how libraries might address the problems of truth and untruth in ethically sound ways. As a contribution to the re-evaluation we propose, the paper presents an ethical framework based on alethic rights—or rights to truth—as conceived by Italian philosopher Franca D’Agostini and how these might inform professional approaches that support personal safety, open knowledge, and social justice.

Power, Conflict, and Effectiveness

2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Afzalur Rahim ◽  
David Antonioni ◽  
Krum Krumov ◽  
Snejana Ilieva
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Interpersonal Conflict ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Hierarchical Regression Analysis ◽  
Referent Power ◽  
Legitimate Power ◽  
Power Base ◽  
Effectiveness Data

This study investigated the relationships of bases of leader power (coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, and referent) and styles of handling interpersonal conflict (integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding, and compromising) to subordinates' effectiveness. Data for this study were collected with questionnaires from the United States and Bulgaria and analyzed with hierarchical regression analysis for each country. Results indicated that in the United States referent power base of supervisors and integrating style of handling conflict of subordinates were positively associated with effectiveness. In Bulgaria, legitimate power base of supervisors was positively associated with effectiveness, but the subordinates' conflict styles were not associated with effectiveness.

Obesity – a global health crisis

2014 ◽  
pp. 9-10
Author(s):  
Hannah Brinsden
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Health Crisis

The Role of the Business Sector in Global Health Politics

2018 ◽  
pp. 385-408
Author(s):  
Kelley Lee ◽  
Julia Smith
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Business Sector ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Health Politics ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Private Interests ◽  
Health Related

The influence of for-profit businesses in collective action across countries to protect and promote population health dates from the first International Sanitary Conferences of the nineteenth century. The restructuring of the world economy since the late twentieth century and the growth of large transnational corporations have led the business sector to become a key feature of global health politics. The business sector has subsequently moved from being a commercial producer of health-related goods and services, contractor, and charitable donor, to being a major shaper of, and even participant in, global health policymaking bodies. This chapter discusses three sites where this has occurred: collective action to regulate health-harming industries, activities to provide for public interest needs, and participation in decision-making within global health institutions. These changing forms of engagement by the business sector have elicited scholarly and policy debate regarding the appropriate relationship between public and private interests in global health.

scholarly journals 2020 FDA TIDES (Peptides and Oligonucleotides) Harvest

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 145
Author(s):  
Othman Al Musaimi ◽  
Danah Al Shaer ◽  
Fernando Albericio ◽  
Beatriz de la Torre
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Drug Administration ◽  
Mode Of Action ◽  
Chemical Structure ◽  
Food And Drug Administration ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
New Drug ◽  
Target Mode ◽  
The Us

2020 has been an extremely difficult and challenging year as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and one in which most efforts have been channeled into tackling the global health crisis. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved 53 new drug entities, six of which fall in the peptides and oligonucleotides (TIDES) category. The number of authorizations for these kinds of drugs has been similar to that of previous years, thereby reflecting the consolidation of the TIDES market. Here, the TIDES approved in 2020 are analyzed in terms of chemical structure, medical target, mode of action, and adverse effects.

scholarly journals Spotting Loneliness at School: Associations between Self-Reports and Teacher and Peer Nominations

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 971
Author(s):  
Flore Geukens ◽  
Marlies Maes ◽  
Antonius H. N. Cillessen ◽  
Hilde Colpin ◽  
Karla Van Leeuwen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Peer Status ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Moderate Correlation ◽  
Hierarchical Regression Analysis ◽  
Teacher Nominations ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Peer Nominations

In two independent studies, we aimed to examine the extent to which teacher and peer nominations of loneliness are associated with children’s and adolescents’ self-reported loneliness, respectively. Additionally, we examined whether loneliness nominations from teachers and peers were informative above and beyond peer status and social behaviors associated with loneliness. In Study 1 (N = 1594, Mage = 9.43 years), teacher nominations of loneliness showed a small to moderate correlation with children’s self-reported loneliness as assessed using the Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Questionnaire (LSDQ). The results of a hierarchical regression analysis showed that teacher nominations of loneliness predicted children’s self-reported loneliness above and beyond teacher nominations of peer status and social behaviors. In Study 2 (N = 350, Mage = 13.81 years), peer nominations of loneliness showed a small to moderate correlation with adolescents’ self-reported loneliness as assessed using the peer-related loneliness subscale of the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LACA). The results of a hierarchical regression analysis showed that peer nominations of loneliness predicted adolescents’ self-reported loneliness above and beyond peer nominations of peer status and social behaviors. We conclude that loneliness nominations are valuable, but caution is needed when they are used exclusively to identify lonely children and adolescents.

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