Implicit and explicit COVID-19-vaccine harmfulness/helpfulness associations predict vaccine beliefs,intentions, and behaviors |
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| Authors: | Bianca M Hinojosa William B Meese Jennifer L Howell Kristen P Lindgren Brian O’Shea Bethany A Teachman Alexandra Werntz |
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| Institution: | 1. University of California, Merced, CA, USA;2. University of Washington, Center for the Study of Health and Risk Behaviors, Seattle, WA, USA;3. School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NH, USA;4. Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA;5. Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA |
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| Abstract: | We investigated the role of implicit and explicit associations between harm and COVID-19 vaccines using a large sample (N = 4668) of online volunteers. The participants completed a brief implicit association test and explicit measures to evaluate the extent to which they associated COVID-19 vaccines with concepts of harmfulness or helpfulness. We examined the relationship between these harmfulness/helpfulness COVID-19 vaccine associations and vaccination status, intentions, beliefs, and behavior. We found that stronger implicit and explicit associations that COVID-19 vaccines are helpful relate to vaccination status and beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccine. That is, stronger pro-helpful COVID-19 vaccine associations, both implicitly and explicitly, related to greater intentions to be vaccinated, more positive beliefs about the vaccine, and greater vaccine uptake. |
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| Keywords: | decision making implicit associations health behavior vaccine refusal vaccine hesitancy |
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