The role of motivated science reception and numeracy in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Hutmacher, Fabian; Reichardt, Regina; Appel, Markus

doi:10.1177/09636625211047974

Cited by 27 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Second, our focus here was exclusively on post-truth epistemic beliefs as predictors of conspiratorial thinking and the willingness to engage in protective behavior in the context of COVID-19. This does not rule out, but rather complements alternative perspectives, such as work that has highlighted the role of individual differences in analytic thinking (e.g., Pennycook et al, 2021) or numeracy (Hutmacher et al, 2022).…”

Section: Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 80%

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Beliefs about the nature of knowledge shape responses to the pandemic: Epistemic beliefs, the Dark Factor of Personality, and COVID‐19–related conspiracy ideation and behavior

Rudloff

Hutmacher

Appel

2022

Journal of Personality

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Objective Global challenges such as climate change or the COVID‐19 pandemic have drawn public attention to conspiracy theories and citizens' non‐compliance to science‐based behavioral guidelines. We focus on individuals' worldviews about how one can and should construct reality (epistemic beliefs) to explain the endorsement of conspiracy theories and behavior during the COVID‐19 pandemic and propose the Dark Factor of Personality (D) as an antecedent of post‐truth epistemic beliefs. Method and Results This model is tested in four pre‐registered studies. In Study 1 ( N = 321), we found first evidence for a positive association between D and post‐truth epistemic beliefs (Faith in Intuition for Facts, Need for Evidence, Truth is Political). In Study 2 ( N = 453), we tested the model proper by further showing that post‐truth epistemic beliefs predict the endorsement of COVID‐19 conspiracies and disregarding COVID‐19 behavioral guidelines. Study 3 ( N = 923) largely replicated these results at a later stage of the pandemic. Finally, in Study 4 ( N = 513), we replicated the results in a German sample, corroborating their cross‐cultural validity. Interactions with political orientation were observed. Conclusion Our research highlights that epistemic beliefs need to be taken into account when addressing major challenges to humankind.

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Section: Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…How to cite this article: Rudloff, J. P., Hutmacher, F., & Appel, M. (2022). Beliefs about the nature of knowledge shape responses to the pandemic: Epistemic beliefs, the Dark Factor of Personality, and COVID-19-related conspiracy ideation and behavior.…”

Section: Supporting Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beliefs about the nature of knowledge shape responses to the pandemic: Epistemic beliefs, the Dark Factor of Personality, and COVID‐19–related conspiracy ideation and behavior

Rudloff

Hutmacher

Appel

2022

Journal of Personality

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“…In this study, we applied a more theory-guided approach: based on philosophical theory on misleading argumentation techniques, we developed an intervention that inoculates people against misleading forms of incorrect reasoning –not specific fake news or conspiracy theories. Building on Hutmacher et al [ 8 ], we propose that there are different approaches to inoculation, some more theory-guided (like increasing statistical or argumentative knowledge), and some more phenomenon-based (like exposure to weakened forms of actual fake news), which all can help to inoculate people against misinformation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning about informal fallacies and the detection of fake news: An experimental intervention

Hruschka

Appel

2023

PLoS ONE

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The philosophical concept of informal fallacies–arguments that fail to provide sufficient support for a claim–is introduced and connected to the topic of fake news detection. We assumed that the ability to identify informal fallacies can be trained and that this ability enables individuals to better distinguish between fake news and real news. We tested these assumptions in a two-group between-participants experiment (N = 116). The two groups participated in a 30-minute-long text-based learning intervention: either about informal fallacies or about fake news. Learning about informal fallacies enhanced participants’ ability to identify fallacious arguments one week later. Furthermore, the ability to identify fallacious arguments was associated with a better discernment between real news and fake news. Participants in the informal fallacy intervention group and the fake news intervention group performed equally well on the news discernment task. The contribution of (identifying) informal fallacies for research and practice is discussed.

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“…A body of literature demonstrates that mathematical skills and higher levels of numeracy can act as a protective mechanism against cognitive biases and oversimplifications through heuristics ( Munoz-Rubke et al, 2022 ). For instance, higher numeracy was found to be associated with less confirmation bias ( Hutmacher et al, 2022 ), while short educational interventions of mathematical nature were shown to reduce whole-number bias ( Thompson et al, 2021 ). In the context of the exponential growth bias, only two studies directly looked at the effect of mathematical education.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is my visualization better than yours? Analyzing factors modulating exponential growth bias in graphs

Melnik-Leroy

Aidokas²,

Dzemyda³

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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Humans tend to systematically underestimate exponential growth and perceive it in linear terms, which can have severe consequences in a variety of fields. Recent studies attempted to examine the origins of this bias and to mitigate it by using the logarithmic vs. the linear scale in graphical representations. However, they yielded conflicting results as to which scale induces more perceptual errors. In the current study, in an experiment with a short educational intervention, we further examine the factors modulating the exponential bias in graphs and suggest a theoretical explanation for our findings. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that each of the scales can induce misperceptions in a particular context. In addition to this, we explore the effect of mathematical education by testing two groups of participants (with a background in humanities vs. formal sciences). The results of this study confirm that when used in an inadequate context, these scales can have a dramatic effect on the interpretation of visualizations representing exponential growth. In particular, while the log scale leads to more errors in graph description tasks, the linear scale misleads people when they have to make predictions on the future trajectory of exponential growth. The second part of the study revealed that the difficulties with both scales can be reduced by means of a short educational intervention. Importantly, while no difference between participants groups was observed prior to the intervention, participants with a better mathematical education showed a stronger learning effect at posttest. The findings of this study are discussed in light of a dual-process model.

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The role of motivated science reception and numeracy in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 27 publications

References 68 publications

Beliefs about the nature of knowledge shape responses to the pandemic: Epistemic beliefs, the Dark Factor of Personality, and COVID‐19–related conspiracy ideation and behavior

Beliefs about the nature of knowledge shape responses to the pandemic: Epistemic beliefs, the Dark Factor of Personality, and COVID‐19–related conspiracy ideation and behavior

Learning about informal fallacies and the detection of fake news: An experimental intervention

Is my visualization better than yours? Analyzing factors modulating exponential growth bias in graphs

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