The Relative Impact of Anecdotal and Statistical Evidence on COVID-19 Vaccine Intentions
Abstract
This study investigated the relative impact of anecdotal and statistical safety evidence on the perceived likelihood of unvaccinated friends or relatives experiencing severe adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccination. This study also investigated the relative impact of anecdotal and statistical evidence on an individual’s intention to encourage unvaccinated friends and relatives to talk with healthcare providers about COVID-19 vaccination. Three hundred and fifty-nine participants were randomly assigned to one of six experimental conditions. In each condition, I manipulated the presence of base rate evidence (present, absent) that supported the safety of COVID-19 vaccination; I also manipulated the presence of anecdotal evidence (present, absent) that either challenged or supported COVID-19 vaccination. Anecdotal evidence was always presented in the form of brief videos taken from news reports and YouTube depicting a community member’s personal vaccine-related experience (positive or negative). In contrast, base rate evidence was always presented in the form of written numerical safety estimates (e.g., two out of a million individuals experience heart inflammation) based on findings derived from millions of individuals. I hypothesized that watching two emotionally disturbing YouTube videos, each depicting a personal tragedy after COVID-19 vaccination, would decrease a participant’s reliance on objective, base rate safety evidence when evaluating the safety of COVID-19 vaccination. I also hypothesized that watching several emotionally uplifting YouTube videos, each depicting a positive experience after COVID-19 vaccination, would decrease the impact of watching tragic YouTube videos when evaluating vaccine safety. Results did not support either hypothesis. The potential implications of these findings are discussed.
Subject Area
Psychology|Experimental psychology|Behavioral psychology
Recommended Citation
Misra, Kiran, "The Relative Impact of Anecdotal and Statistical Evidence on COVID-19 Vaccine Intentions" (2023). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI30635149.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI30635149