ArticlePersonality and individual differences2021
It's a conspiracy: Covid-19 conspiracies link to psychopathy, Machiavellianism and collective narcissism.
Article in Personality and individual differences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Contemporary trends in psychological research on conspiracy beliefs. A systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Antecedents and consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: A systematic review.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2022Pooled it
- COVID vaccination and economic game decisions: The role of analytical thinking.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2026Article
- The Dual Impact of Believing and Spreading Conspiracy Theories: Independent and Interactive Effects on Social Perceptions and Orientations.Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006) · 2026Article
- The Role of Personality in Vaccination Attitudes: A Replication and Extension.International journal of psychology : Journal international de psychologie · 2026Article
- The Dual Pathways Hypothesis of Incel Harm: A Model of Harmful Attitudes and Beliefs Among Involuntary Celibates.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Impact of Dark Triad personality traits on COVID-19 vaccination uptake and prevention efforts: insights from the European Covid Survey (ECOS).BMC public health · 2025Article
- How personality functioning relates to psychological distress and behavioral attitudes during the Covid-19 pandemic.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2025Article
- Are individual differences in personality associated with COVID-19 infection? Examining the role of normative, maladaptive, and dark personality traits using structural equation modeling.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? Dark triad personality traits in the context of decision about vaccination against COVID-19.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Conspiracy narratives and vaccine hesitancy: a scoping review of prevalence, impact, and interventions.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Evaluating the Influence of Role-Playing Prompts on ChatGPT's Misinformation Detection Accuracy: Quantitative Study.JMIR infodemiology · 2024Article
- To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? The role of personality.Personality and individual differences · 2023Article
- Acceptance and Adherence to COVID-19 Preventive Measures are Shaped Predominantly by Conspiracy Beliefs, Mistrust in Science and Fear - A Comparison of More than 20 Psychological Variables.Psychological reports · 2023Article
- COVID-19 prevention behaviour is differentially motivated by primary psychopathy, grandiose narcissism and vulnerable Dark Triad traits.Personality and individual differences · 2023Article
- Dark Triad and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: the role of conspiracy beliefs and risk perception.Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) · 2023Article
- The mediating role of vaccine hesitancy in the relations of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and vaccination outcomes: Which dimensions matter?Journal of health psychology · 2023Article
- How Anti-Social Personality Traits and Anti-Establishment Views Promote Beliefs in Election Fraud, QAnon, and COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation.American politics research · 2023Article
- Conspiracy beliefs and COVID-19 guideline adherence in adolescent psychiatric outpatients: the predictive role of adverse childhood experiences.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2023Article
- National Narcissism predicts the Belief in and the Dissemination of Conspiracy Theories During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From 56 Countries.Personality & social psychology bulletin · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A proliferation of conspiracy theories has emerged during the Covid-19 health pandemic. The present study investigated individual susceptibility to conspiracy beliefs and the mediating role of Covid related conspiracy beliefs on links between personality and intentional dissemination of Covid-19 conspiracies and willingness to obtain a Covid-19 vaccine. Specifically, we focused on trait psychopathy, Machiavellianism and collective narcissism, as these traits have previously been linked to heightened conspiracy mentalities. We recruited 406 UK participants to take part in an online survey investigating personality and Covid-19 information. Machiavellianism and primary psychopathy positively predicted general and Covid specific conspiracy beliefs, whereas collective narcissism positively predicted Covid specific conspiracy beliefs only. Covid-19 conspiracy beliefs mediated the negative relationships between all traits and willingness to obtain a future vaccine. We discuss possible implications of these findings and provide direction for future research.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.