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Conspiracy mentality (CM), the general propensity to believe in conspiracy theories, has been linked to political behaviors, prejudice, and non‐compliance with public health guidelines. While there is increasing evidence that conspiracy beliefs are pervasive, research on individual‐level predictors of CM is scarce. Specifically, we identify three gaps in research: First, evidence on the question which individual‐level characteristics predict CM is inconsistent and often based on small samples. Second, personality, political, and religious predictors are usually examined in isolation. Third, differences on the societal level have been mostly neglected. In the present research, we gathered CAWI (Study 1) and CATI (Study 2) data on generalized interpersonal trust (GIT), right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA), and religiosity in two politically and culturally different European countries, namely Germany (N = 2,760) and Poland (N = 2,651). This allowed for a well‐powered test of three theoretically relevant predictors of CM, including their unique predictive value. Moreover, we were able to explore whether these associations replicate across or are moderated by country context. Our findings underline the role of GIT and RWA in predicting CM in both countries. Analyses based on RWA subdimensions yielded a differentiated picture of the role of RWA. Furthermore, we found cross‐country differences with stronger associations of GIT and RWA with CM in Germany. Findings are discussed concerning political and religious differences between the examined countries.

We investigated pandemic denial in the general public in Germany after the first wave of COVID-19 in May 2020. Using latent class analysis, we compared patterns of disagreement with claims about (a) the origin, spread, or infectiousness of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and (b) the personal risk from COVID-19 between scientific laypersons (N = 1,575) and scientific experts (N = 128). Two groups in the general public differed distinctively from expert evaluations. The Dismissive (8%) are characterized by low-risk assessment, low compliance with containment measures, and mistrust in politicians. The Doubtful (19%) are characterized by low cognitive reflection, high uncertainty in the distinction between true and false claims, and high social media intake. Our research indicates that pandemic denial cannot be linked to a single and distinct pattern of psychological dispositions but involves different subgroups within the general population that share high COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and low beliefs in epistemic complexity.

Immer mehr Autoren befassen sich mit den Auswirkungen von sozialen Netzwerken. Ein möglicher Einflussfaktor auf diese Wirkungsprozesse ist der soziale Vergleich des Erscheinungsbildes oder die Tendenz dazu. Im Rahmen einer systematischen Literaturrecherche wurde mit 19 Publikationen ein erster systematischer Überblick zu den Vergleichsprozessen in sozialen Medien und deren Auswirkungen auf Heranwachsende erstellt. Die Arbeit evaluiert den aktuellen Forschungsstand hingehend der signifikanten Auswirkungen und Limitationen und gibt einen Ausblick für zukünftige Forschung. Die psycho-emotionale Wirkung unterschiedlicher Vergleichsarten des Erscheinungsbildes wurde durch diverse Nutzungsweisen von sozialen Medien auf Präadoleszente, Adoleszente und junge Erwachsenen international untersucht, wobei Einflussfaktoren wie Geschlecht, Gewicht, Ethnie, elterliche Kontrolle, Gesamtähnlichkeit und feministische Einstellungen mit einbezogen wurden. Die Publikationen untersuchten Wahrnehmungen und Selbst-Evaluierungen des Körperbildes, Stimmungen, das Wohlbefinden, die psychische Gesundheit sowie erscheinungsbezogene Motivationen und Verhaltensweisen von Heranwachsenden. Es gab experimentelle Belege, dass sich die Nutzung sozialer Netzwerke durch den Einfluss von häufigen Zustands- oder Merkmalserscheinungsvergleichen bei der jungen Bevölkerung auf Körperbildsorgen wie die Körperbild-Unzufriedenheit, Bedenken bezüglich des Gesichts, den Haaren und der Haut, die Stimmung, die Körperwertschätzung und Einstellungen zum Vergleichsziel negativ auswirkt. Mehr Längsschnitte, Experimente und diversere Samples sind notwendig, um diese Beziehungen zu erfassen.

Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated selfreported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = −0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics.