Correcting COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation: How Vaccine Information, Norm Beliefs, and Relational Closeness Influence Correction Intention.

Abstract

Drawing on the integrative model of behavioral prediction (IMBP) and the social norms approach, this study examines how exposure to COVID-19 vaccine information influences intentions to correct vaccine misinformation, with attention to the moderating role of relational closeness. An experiment with 1,064 U.S. adults conducted in early 2021 shows that exposure to vaccine information increases correction intentions through perceived social norms. Relational closeness moderated this process in a counterintuitive way: although overall correction intentions were highest for friends, the effect of information exposure on norms was steeper for strangers, suggesting ceiling effects among close ties. By situating misinformation correction as a socially embedded and normatively governed decision, this study extends the IMBP to the context of vaccine misinformation and highlights how background factors, social norms, and relational dynamics jointly shape corrective behavior.