The Relationship between Bullshit Receptivity and Willingness to Share Misinformation about Climate Change: The Moderating Role of Pregnancy

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 12;19(24):16670. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416670.

Abstract

Widespread dissemination of misinformation about climate change has seriously harmed the health of future generations and the world. Moreover, misinformation-sharing behaviors exhibit strong individual characteristics. However, research is limited on the antecedents of and mechanism underlying the willingness to share misinformation about climate change in terms of individual personalities and physiological states. Accordingly, we surveyed 582 women (224 pregnant) using a questionnaire and constructed a moderated mediation model to explore the relationships among individuals' bullshit receptivity, belief in misinformation about climate change, willingness to share misinformation about climate change, and pregnancy. The results showed that: (1) bullshit receptivity is positively related to the willingness to share misinformation about climate change; (2) belief in misinformation about climate change mediates the relationship between bullshit receptivity and willingness to share misinformation about climate change; and (3) for individuals with higher bullshit receptivity, pregnancy exacerbates the detrimental effects of bullshit receptivity on belief in misinformation about climate change.

Keywords: belief in misinformation about climate change; bullshit receptivity; pregnancy; willingness to share misinformation about climate change.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Climate Change*
  • Communication*
  • Confidentiality
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Pregnancy
  • Surveys and Questionnaires

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Program of Humanity and Social Science Youth Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (grant numbers 19YJCZH073); National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 72174075; 71801109).