IJERPH, Vol. 19, Pages 9499: Expectations about the & ldquo;Natural Order of Things & rdquo; and Conspiracy Beliefs about COVID-19

IJERPH, Vol. 19, Pages 9499: Expectations about the “Natural Order of Things” and Conspiracy Beliefs about COVID-19 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159499 Authors: Mauro Giacomantonio Valerio Pellegrini Valeria De Cristofaro Maurizio Brasini Francesco Mancini The COVID-19 pandemic represents an event that unsettled the social and economic life of many people. When individuals are faced with shocking events, they may need to find plausible explanations for such events to restore control and make sense of reality. The adoption of conspiracy beliefs may represent a functional strategy for this purpose. The present study investigated whether the endorsement of conspiracy beliefs may be associated with the degree to which an upsetting event (i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic) is perceived as incoherent with individuals’ general set of expectations about the world functioning (i.e., the natural order of things). Analyzing data from a community sample of 565 Italian participants, a path analysis model highlighted a mediation pattern where the natural order of things was negatively related to the adoption of conspiracy beliefs and, thus, was indirectly and positively related to support for the norms aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19, feelings of guilt about neglecting such norms, and intentions to be compliant with COVID-19 vaccination. Moreover, the natural order of things was...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research