Knowing less but presuming more: Dunning-Kruger effects and the endorsement of anti-vaccine policy attitudes
Knowing less but presuming more: Dunning-Kruger effects and the endorsement of anti-vaccine policy attitudes
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DOI：
10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.06.032
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发表时间：
2018-08-01
影响因子：
5.4
通讯作者：
Sylvester, Steven
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Motta, Matthew;Callaghan, Timothy;Sylvester, Steven
目的：尽管疫苗的好处得到医学专家的广泛认可，但公众对疫苗接种政策的看法褒贬不一。我们分析了公众对疫苗接种政策的意见，以评估邓宁-克鲁格效应是否有助于解释反疫苗接种政策的态度。理由：自闭症意识低的人，即对自闭症基本事实的了解和对有关自闭症的错误信息的忽视，最有可能认为他们比医学专家更了解自闭症的原因（邓宁-克鲁格效应）。这种“过度自信”应该与对强制性疫苗接种政策的支持减少以及对医疗专业人员在政策制定过程中所发挥作用的怀疑有关。在对美国成年人的原始调查中，（N = 1310），我们将自我报告的过度自信建模为对自闭症原因知识测试的反应函数，以及对疫苗和自闭症之间联系的错误信息的认可。然后，我们建模的反疫苗接种政策的支持和态度的作用，专家在决策过程中发挥的过度自信和自闭症意识指标的功能，同时控制潜在的混杂factors.Results：超过三分之一的受访者在我们的样本中认为，他们知道更多或超过医生（36%）和科学家（34%）关于自闭症的原因。我们的分析表明，这种过度自信在那些对自闭症原因了解程度低的人和那些错误信息认可程度高的人中最高。此外，我们的研究结果表明，这种过度自信与反对强制性疫苗接种政策有关。过度自信也与对非专家（例如，结论：Dunning-Kruger效应有助于解释公众对疫苗接种政策的反对，在未来的反疫苗政策态度研究中应予以认真考虑。
Objective: Although the benefits of vaccines are widely recognized by medical experts, public opinion about vaccination policies is mixed. We analyze public opinion about vaccination policies to assess whether Dunning-Kruger effects can help to explain anti-vaccination policy attitudes.Rationale: People low in autism awareness that is, the knowledge of basic facts and dismissal of misinformation about autism should be the most likely to think that they are better informed than medical experts about the causes of autism (a Dunning-Kruger effect). This "overconfidence" should be associated with decreased support for mandatory vaccination policies and skepticism about the role that medical professionals play in the policymaking process.Method: In an original survey of U.S. adults (N = 1310), we modeled self-reported overconfidence as a function of responses to a knowledge test about the causes of autism, and the endorsement of misinformation about a link between vaccines and autism. We then modeled anti-vaccination policy support and attitudes toward the role that experts play in the policymaking process as a function of overconfidence and the autism awareness indicators while controlling for potential confounding factors.Results: More than a third of respondents in our sample thought that they knew as much or more than doctors (36%) and scientists (34%) about the causes of autism. Our analysis indicates that this overconfidence is highest among those with low levels of knowledge about the causes of autism and those with high levels of misinformation endorsement. Further, our results suggest that this overconfidence is associated with opposition to mandatory vaccination policy. Overconfidence is also associated with increased support for the role that non experts (e.g., celebrities) play in the policymaking process.Conclusion: Dunning-Kruger effects can help to explain public opposition to vaccination policies and should be carefully considered in future research on anti-vaccine policy attitudes.