Who Thinks COVID-19 is a Hoax? Psychological Correlates of Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories and Attitudes Towards Anti-Coronavirus Measures at the End of the First Lockdown in Germany

Abstract

The reported dataset addresses potential correlates and predictors of beliefs in conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic. Different psychological constructs (self-esteem, Dark Triad personality traits, collective narcissism, political attitude, individualism/collectivism), social status, and socio-demographic variables were assessed. Data from 746 participants from all parts of Germany who study part-time while working were collected between May 26 to July 5, 2020. We used a cross-sectional online survey comprising a total of 98 items. Preliminary analysis revealed sound psychometric properties of the measures. These data provide several opportunities for further use and can be utilized for research and educational purposes. For example, comparisons can be drawn between existing research on conspiracy theories to determine whether known factors determining beliefs in conspiracy theories are also relevant for COVID-19. All data and additional materials (e.g., codebook of all items, R code) are available at https://osf.io/p6q7w/.