Researchers at Karolinska Institutet used the coronavirus pandemic to investigate why some people struggle to update their worldview, a difficulty linked to greater susceptibility to conspiracy theories.
The team notes that human understanding depends on continually weighing new information against existing beliefs.
When this mechanism weakens, unexpected events become harder to interpret.
A large brain-imaging project involving more than 1,000 volunteers was originally planned, but laboratory shutdowns in 2020 due to COVID-19 brought data collection to a halt.
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The researchers instead turned to the personality profiles already gathered.
As outlined in Nature Scientific Reports, they analysed whether pre-pandemic psychological traits could predict how nearly 600 participants responded to COVID-19 conspiracy-related statements.
Clear links to psychosis-related traits
The results showed a pronounced pattern.
Participants who had displayed more psychosis-related symptoms before the pandemic were more inclined to accept conspiracy explanations.
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According to Karolinska Institutet, these individuals also struggled more to adjust their beliefs when presented with new information.
This cognitive rigidity appeared in practical choices as well.
Higher levels of psychosis-related traits were associated with delaying or forgoing vaccination, a relationship consistent with international findings on belief updating and resistance to corrective information.
Experts add context
Norwegian psychiatrist Professor Sigmund Karterud said the outcome aligns with long-standing observations, noting that suspiciousness has historically been tied to conspiracy thinking.
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Religious-studies scholar Asbjørn Dyrendal argued that the study strengthens the growing focus on cognitive flexibility in global research but emphasised that conspiracy beliefs are common and not automatically pathological.
Sources: Forskning.no, and Nature Scientific Reports.
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