Conspiratorial beliefs and reduced vaccine acceptance: Understanding the role of perspective-taking

Surges in infectious diseases often bring illness and conspiratorial beliefs. Such beliefs can hinder the adoption of public health advice, including vaccination. Because conspiratorial beliefs are difficult to reduce once entrenched, it is essential to explore strategies that mitigate their impact on vaccine acceptance. We present perspective-taking as a novel intervention, testing whether the negative association between conspiratorial beliefs and vaccine acceptance is weaker when participants take the perspective of someone holding positive vaccine attitudes. In Studies 1A-1C, participants read excerpts from interviews with COVID-19-vaccinated individuals. Study 2 examined live conversations with individuals holding positive vaccine attitudes and tested the durability of the effects by measuring vaccine acceptance 2 weeks later, assessing whether the moderating effect of perspective-taking arose from enhanced psychological closeness. Studies 3A-3B extended the hypotheses to a fictitious disease to examine generalizability beyond COVID-19. Study 3A used a similar paradigm to Studies 1A-1C and tested the same hypotheses as Study 2. Study 3B assessed the moderating effect of perspective-taking through a public service announcement-style video designed to enhance ecological validity. We found general support for our hypotheses. This research is significant because it can lead to the development of strategies to combat vaccine hesitancy.