The Association Between the Belief in Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories, Miracles, and the Susceptibility to Conjunction Fallacy

Overview

Journal Appl Cogn Psychol

Publisher Wiley

Specialty Psychology

Date 2021 Sep 14

PMID 34518736

Citations 4

Authors

Albert Wabnegger

Andreas Gremsl

Anne Schienle

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Previous research has shown that people who endorse conspiracy theories are more prone to the conjunction fallacy: the tendency to perceive conjunct events as more probable than constituent events. The present study examined the relationship between specific beliefs (belief in conspiracy theories, religiosity) and the susceptibility to conjunction errors (CEs) in specific domains. A total of 500 participants was presented with brief scenarios from the domains "coronavirus conspiracy," "miraculous healing," and a control condition. Each scenario included one statement about a separate event and a second statement about two joint events co-occurring. The participants estimated the probability of each statement. Results showed that the number of CEs made in the coronavirus domain was only associated with the belief in conspiracy theories, while general religiosity was only associated with CEs for scenarios describing miraculous healings. The assessed beliefs were not associated with CEs made in the control condition. Results suggest that distinct beliefs are uniquely associated with the susceptibility to conjunction errors in particular domains.

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The association between the belief in coronavirus conspiracy theories, miracles, and the susceptibility to conjunction fallacy.

Wabnegger A, Gremsl A, Schienle A Appl Cogn Psychol. 2021; 35(5):1344-1348.

PMID: 34518736 PMC: 8427010. DOI: 10.1002/acp.3860.

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