Abstract
Amid increased acts of violence against telecommunication engineers and property, this pre‐registered study (N = 601 Britons) investigated the association between beliefs in 5G COVID‐19 conspiracy theories and the justification and willingness to use violence. Findings revealed that belief in 5G COVID‐19 conspiracy theories was positively correlated with state anger, which in turn, was associated with a greater justification of real‐life and hypothetical violence in response to an alleged link between 5G mobile technology and COVID‐19, alongside a greater intent to engage in similar behaviours in the future. Moreover, these associations were strongest for those highest in paranoia. Furthermore, we show that these patterns are not specific to 5G conspiratorial beliefs: General conspiracy mentality was positively associated with justification and willingness for general violence, an effect mediated by heightened state anger, especially for those most paranoid in the case of justification of violence. Such research provides novel evidence on why and when conspiracy beliefs may justify the use of violence.
Highlights
Conspiracy theories explain the ultimate causes of significant events as the secret actions of malevolent groups, who cover-up information to suit their interests (e.g., Douglas, et al, 2017)
While anger is a likely mediator between conspiracy beliefs and violent intent, it is clear that anger does not always provoke violence
Mediation: 5G COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, state anger, and violence We examined the proposed mediational role of state anger between 5G COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and violent responses to the alleged link between 5G mobile technology and COVID-19 (H2)
Summary
Conspiracy theories explain the ultimate causes of significant events as the secret actions of malevolent groups, who cover-up information to suit their interests (e.g., Douglas, et al, 2017). As a distinct but closely correlated construct of conspiracy beliefs, paranoia refers to the belief that a wide range of external agents harbours hostile intent towards them personally – as opposed to the conspiratorial belief that powerful organizations are harming society at large (Imhoff & Lamberty, 2018). Such self-referential paranoia, along with anger, has been identified as a significant predictor of violence in forensic psychological research (e.g., Doyle & Dolan, 2006). Extrapolating from this clinical sample, suggests that conspiratorially provoked anger is most likely to be associated with violence for those reporting more paranoia
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