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Published on: September 12, 2014
Misbehaving in the Corona crisis: The role of anxiety and unfounded beliefs
Nikola Erceg1, Mitja Ružojčić1, Zvonimir Galić1
1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Ivana Lucica 3, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Abstract:
The aim of our study was to explore psychological determinants of COVID-19 responsible behavior. We focused on trait anxiety and worry about the corona crisis, knowledge and unfounded beliefs about coronavirus and thinking dispositions (cognitive reflection, actively open-minded thinking, faith in intuition and science curiosity) that should drive knowledge and beliefs. Additionally, we tested the effectiveness of a one-shot intervention based on the "consider counter-arguments" debiasing technique in changing COVID-19 unfounded beliefs. We used a convenience sample of 1439 participants who filled in the questionnaire on-line. Comparison of latent means showed that the "consider counter-arguments" intervention did not affect unfounded beliefs. Structural equation model, conducted on 962 participants with data on all variables, indicated that greater worry and weaker endorsement of COVID-19 unfounded beliefs lead to more responsible COVID-19 behavior. The relationship of trait anxiety and thinking dispositions with the criterion was mediated through the worry about COVID-19 and unfounded beliefs about COVID-19, respectively.
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