Despite the fact that the pandemic of the new Corinavirus lasts for a year, a huge number of people around the world continues to doubt both the existence of the virus, and that COVID-19 vaccines are really effective. Take, for example, a recent survey of the Levada Center, according to which 64% of Russians believe that "Coronavirus was created artificially as a biological weapon," and another 56% of compatriots assured that they are generally not afraid to become contaminated by coronavirus. Interestingly, such monstrous survey results are voiced against the background of a large-scale vaccination "satellite V", deployed in the country. Meanwhile, the results of the new study showed that people are inclined to maintain a conspiracy theory about the coronavirus, as a rule, poorly understand the scientific principles and more often refuse vaccination. Note that 783 volunteers took part in the study about a week after the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Slovakia.
Lzhenauka pursues humanity
Undoubtedly, the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the greatest disasters that fell into humanity in modern history. Although modern science, ironically, is the only ray of hope in these dark times, pseudo-contaminated beliefs and worldviews retain their power over humanity. Given the growing popularity of false-scientific beliefs and theories of the conspiracy on the origin and treatment of COVID-19, the researchers became interested in this problem.
"At the beginning of the Pandemic COVID-19, there was too much uncertainty and confusion regarding the best protection measures from Coronavirus," said Vladimir Kavoyova from the Center for Social and Psychological Sciences of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. "Scientists have become a center of attention, and we suggested that people who better understand the work of scientists will be able to better navigate into a sea of controversial information and resist the pseudo-native and unreasonable beliefs."
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According to the result of the work published in the journal of Journal of Health Phochology, people with a better understanding of how scientists argue and how the science arranged with a smaller probability will become victims of false theories of the conspiracy about the Pandemic COVID-19.
In the course of the study, all 783 subjects were invited to specify whether they agree with various statements about coronavirus conspiracy, such as SARS-COV-2, is a biological weapon created to reduce the population of the Earth or that COVID-19 - These are just falsification, ordinary flu, which pharmaceutical companies have been advertised to increase drug sales.
Participants also passed the test for the ability to reason scientifically, in which they were asked to respond to six true or false statements, for example, such: "Researchers want to find out how to increase fertility. They request statistical information and see that in cities where more hospitals are born. This discovery implies that the construction of new hospitals will increase the fertility of the population. "
In addition, all participants in the study passed a test for knowledge about the coronavirus, faith in unreasonable statements related to health, as well as the ability to analytical reasoning and attitude towards the movement of opponents of vaccinations. The authors of scientific work discovered that those who strongly supported the theory of conspiracy, as a rule, gained low points on the test of scientific reasoning. Moreover, the tests that scored the smallest number of points in the ability to reason scientifically, with a greater probability approved unfounded general beliefs related to health, and installing opponents of vaccinations.
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According to the authors of the study, the most important conclusion of their work is that, although scientific reasoning helps people distinguish with reasonable assumptions, supported by evidence from unreasonable beliefs, during the crisis, such as pandemic, people rely on any previous beliefs and installations in the interpretation of new evidence. , and those who are more prone to unreasonable beliefs will be more vulnerable to any disinformation.
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Note that during the study, scientists did not find any evidence that the ability to scientific reasoning is associated with the implementation of coronavirus restrictions, such as social distance. The authors of the new research, as Psypost writes, are now working on another similar study they spent in November during the next COVID-19 wave in Slovakia. Scientists have discovered that the inability to reason scientifically is also associated with the reluctance to follow the rules recommended by the Government.