Manyintervention programs work from a deficit model of science communication,presuming that vaccination skeptics lack the ability to access or understandevidence.
However,interventions focusing on evidence and the debunking of vaccine-related mythshave proven to be either non-productive or counterproductive.
Working from amotivated reasoning perspective, we examine the psychological factors thatmight motivate people to reject scientific consensus around vaccination.
Toassist with international generalizability, we examine this question in 24countries. Methods: We sampled 5,323 participants in 24 countries, and measuredtheir antivaccination attitudes.
We also measured their belief in conspiracytheories, reactance (the tendency for people to have a low tolerance forimpingements on their freedoms), disgust sensitivity toward blood and needles,and individualistic/hierarchical worldviews (i.e., people’s beliefs about howmuch control society should have over individuals, and whether hierarchies aredesirable).
Results: In order of magnitude, antivaccination attitudes werehighest among those who (a) were high in conspiratorial thinking, (b) were highin reactance, (c) reported high levels of disgust toward blood and needles, and(d) had strong individualistic/hierarchical worldviews.
In contrast,demographic variables (including education) accounted for nonsignificant ortrivial levels of variance.
Conclusions: These data help identify the “attituderoots” that may motivate and sustain vaccine skepticism.
In so doing, they helpshed light on why repetition of evidence can be nonproductive, and suggestcommunication solutions to that problem.
Keywords: vaccination, conspiracybeliefs, health communication, attitude roots Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/hea0000586.supp
