Conspiratorial Thinking Research Articles

Conspiracy Thinking in Europe and America: A Comparative Study

What explains conspiracy thinking in Europe and America? This is the first and largest comparative study of conspiracy thinking to date, presenting findings using a representative sample of 11,523 respondents in nine countries. First, it shows that the overall level of conspiracy thinking in Europe is equal to or slightly lower than the United States, contradicting the notion that conspiracy theories is an especially American phenomenon. Second, people more inclined to conspiracy thinking position themselves towards the right of the political spectrum, engage in magical thinking, feel distrust towards public officials and reject the political system. Finally, we find that – surprisingly – the country context in which respondents reside has hardly any effect as predictor of levels of conspiracy thinking or as a moderator of individual-level determinants. Heterogeneity in conspiratorial thinking seems to be largely a function of individual traits.

A call to action for librarians: Countering conspiracy theories in the age of QAnon

Librarians empower learners to become discerning citizens through a set of diverse skills and literacies. To cultivate critical thinkers, librarians continue to build innovative practices, even as technology rapidly evolves. However, the pervasiveness of misinformation and disinformation, most recently seen in the conspiratorial worldviews of QAnon, challenges librarians to center critical thinking in their information literacy praxis. In this article, we provide a concise overview of QAnon and the problems that contemporary internet conspiracy theories like it pose. We offer an epistemological shift for information literacy, from heuristics to mindsets and behaviors, drawing on disciplines external to librarianship. Finally, we consider the role that emotions play in the promotion and spread of conspiracism. Equipping librarians with a better understanding of conspiracy thinking and the tools to counter it will in turn empower the next generation of critical thinkers.

“Historia est magistra vitae”? The impact of historical victimhood on current conspiracy beliefs

Conspiracy beliefs constitute a propensity to attribute major events to powerful agents acting against less powerful “victims”. In this article we test whether collective victimhood facilitates conspiracy thinking. Study 1 showed that perceived group victimhood is associated with generic and group-specific conspiracy beliefs, but only for individuals who identify highly with their ingroup. Study 2 employed an experimental design to show that experimentally increased group victimhood leads to increased endorsement of conspiracy beliefs among high ingroup identifiers, but decreases endorsement of conspiracy beliefs among low identifiers. This effect was mediated by lack of trust towards outgroup members. Study 3 sought to replicate Study 2 in a different socio-political context. While Study 3 did not directly support the relationship between victimhood, group identification and conspiracy beliefs, an integrated meta-analysis of all three studies provides evidence for a significant interaction of victimhood and group identification in predicting conspiracy beliefs.

Medical Anthropology in the Time of COVID-19.

Medical Anthropology in the Time of COVID-19.

Taking Horror as You Find It: From Found Manuscripts to Found Footage Aesthetics

An authenticator of the story and a well-tested enhancer of immersion, the trope of the found manuscript has been a persistent presence in Gothic writing since the birth of the genre. The narrative frame offered by purported textual artifacts has always aligned well with the genre’s preoccupation with questions of literary integrity, veracity, authorial originality, ontological anxiety and agency. However, for some time now the application of the found manuscript convention to Gothic fiction has been reduced to a mere token of the genre, failing to gain impact or credibility. A revival of the convention appears to have taken place with the remediation and appropriation of the principally literary trope by the language of film, more specifically, the found footage horror subgenre.
 The article wishes to survey the common modes and purposes of the found manuscript device (by referring mostly to works of classical Gothic literature, such as The Castle of Otranto, Dracula and Frankenstein) to further utilize Dirk Delabastita’s theories on intersemiotic translation and investigate the gains and losses coming with transfiguring the device into the visual form. Found footage horrors have remained both exceptionally popular with audiences and successful at prolonging the convention by inventing a number of strategies related to performing authenticity. The three films considered for analysis, The Blair Witch Project (1999), Paranormal Activity (2007) and REC (2007), exhibit clear literary provenance, yet they also enhance purporting credibility respectively by rendering visual rawness, appealing to voyeuristic tastes, and exploiting susceptibility to conspiratorial thinking.

‘Constituent Covid-19 apocalypses: contagious conspiracism, 5G, and viral vaccinations’

The uncertainties and scale of the Covid-19 pandemic has mobilised global anxieties and insecurities, and many cultural groups have conjuncturally embedded conspiracy theories within millennial and apocalyptic thought to explain and find meaning in the pandemic. The apocalypse lends itself well to conspiratorial thinking because conceptually it is flexible enough to reflect any crisis. To this end, the global development of Covid-19 conspiracism is what the authors term ‘contagious conspiracism’ which is defined as viral global cultural conspiracism. The paper explores how millennialist responses to Covid-19 in various media outlets transcend academic categories of analysis and cultural boundaries between, say, religious and secular, far-right and radical left. First explored is how the crisis became embedded in established (mainly American) contemporary millennial beliefs and prophecies through selected far-right, evangelical and radical left narratives. Second, it is shown how these theories have been ‘improvised’ to include 5 G and also travelled to Europe and taken on geographical significance in Belfast and Berlin. Third, the authors illustrate the shared ingredients, motivations, and semiotics across apocalyptic conspiratorial Covid-19 narratives, all of which resonate with concerns about power, specifically emergent surveillance technologies, governmental abuse of power, and neoliberal capital, with divergent truths about who is blame from 5 G/vaccine theories to corporate technocapitalism. The paper concludes that these shared discourses across apocalyptic and conspiratorial Covid-19 narratives mean many of us are conspiracists and/or conspiracy theorists at some level and is therefore both revealing of the similarities and has the potential to create democratic constituencies.

Suspicious minds in times of crisis: determinants of Romanians’ beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories

ABSTRACT The current pandemic has generated many conspiracy theories (CTs). In this paper, we investigate several determinants of COVID-19 CTs using survey data from Romania. Some of our findings are consistent with those of previous studies on other CTs: low values of social integration, open-mindedness, and analytical thinking predict conspiracy thinking as well as higher levels of collective narcissism. Other findings run counter to those of prior research on CTs. We hypothesize that this might be due to the specificity of the CTs under scrutiny and related to the Romanian context.

Conspiratorial thinking and foreign policy views: evidence from Central Europe

ABSTRACT Foreign policy analysts assume that conspiratorial thinking is linked to citizens’ foreign policy views and in particular to a preference among citizens for an alignment with Russia rather than the West. Empirical studies on the relationship between conspiratorial thinking and citizens’ foreign policy views are, however, lacking, despite a growing general academic interest in its origins and consequences. Our analysis breaks new ground by empirically evaluating the relationship between conspiratorial thinking and foreign policy preferences based on ISSP survey data for Slovakia. We find that conspiratorial thinking decreases the extent to which citizens prefer their country to be aligned with the West. The effect of conspiratorial thinking is substantively meaningful and on par with other predictors of foreign policy views.

Why Humans Are Vulnerable to Conspiracy Theories.

Humans seem drawn to dark conspiracy theories, often in favor of the simple truth In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation and conspiracy theorizing have surged President Trump, for example, praised the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a "game changer" despite scant empirical evidence of its efficacy and safety for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 Others in the administration have promoted the unsubstantiated theory that SARS-CoV-2 originated in a Chinese lab, despite scientific consensus that the virus likely originated in an animal source before zoonotic transfer and that no evidence indicates that the virus emerged through deliberate lab manipulation of a related virus Here, Friedman discusses why humans are vulnerable to conspiracy theories

Content matters. Different predictors and social consequences of general and government-related conspiracy theories on COVID-19

In times of crisis, people are more prone to endorse conspiracy theories. Conspiracy thinking provides answers about the causes of an event, but it can also have harmful social consequences. Our research tested both the predictor and the consequences of two types of conspiracy beliefs related to the Covid-19 pandemic: (1) general conspiracy beliefs and (2) government-related conspiracy theories. In two studies in Poland (Ntotal = 2726), we found that a perceived lack of individual control predicted both types of conspiracy theories, while a sense of collective control was positively related to general conspiracy beliefs but negatively associated with government-related conspiracy theories. Moreover, general conspiracy theories were related to the acceptance of xenophobic policies and to a less favourable attitude towards outgroups whereas government-related conspiracy theories were not. Additionally, people who believed in conspiratorial governments less frequently indicated that they used prevention methods, such as social distancing and handwashing. Our research demonstrates the importance of considering the content of various conspiracy theories when studying their social effects and potential causes. Knowing which attitudes may be associated with the endorsement of specific conspiracy theories can contribute to counteracting their negative consequences during crises.

Gender Differences in COVID-19 Conspiracy Theory Beliefs

AbstractIn this article, we evaluate gender differences in COVID-19 conspiracy theory beliefs. We find that women are significantly less likely than men to endorse COVID-19 conspiracy theories and that this gender difference cuts across party lines. Our analysis suggests that this gender gap is partially explained by two dispositional factors: learned helplessness and conspiratorial thinking. Our findings qualify past work on the antecedents of conspiracy theory beliefs, which does not uncover robust and significant gender differences. The results highlight the need for work in this area to better theorize about the significance of gender.

Collective narcissism as a framework for understanding populism

Research on national collective narcissism, the belief and resentment that a nation's exceptionality is not sufficiently recognized by others, provides a theoretical framework for understanding the psychological motivations behind the support for right-wing populism. It bridges the findings regarding the economic and sociocultural conditions implicated in the rise of right-wing populism and the findings regarding leadership processes necessary for it to find its political expression. The conditions are interpreted as producing violations to established expectations regarding self-importance via the gradual repeal of the traditional criteria by which members of hegemonic groups evaluated their self-worth. Populist leaders propagate a social identity organized around the collective narcissistic resentment, enhance it, and propose external explanations for frustration of self and in-group-importance. This garners them a committed followership. Research on collective narcissism indicates that distress resulting from violated expectations regarding self-importance stands behind collective narcissism and its narrow vision of “true” national identity (the people), rejection and hostility toward stigmatized in-group members and out-groups as well as the association between collective narcissism and conspiratorial thinking.

The Paranoid Style in American Politics Revisited: An Ideological Asymmetry in Conspiratorial Thinking

It is often claimed that conspiracy theories are endorsed with the same level of intensity across the left‐right ideological spectrum. But do liberals and conservatives in the United States embrace conspiratorial thinking to an equivalent degree? There are important historical, philosophical, and scientific reasons dating back to Richard Hofstadter's bookThe Paranoid Style in American Politicsto doubt this claim. In four large studies of U.S. adults (totalN = 5049)—including national samples—we investigated the relationship between political ideology, measured in both symbolic and operational terms, and conspiratorial thinking in general. Results reveal that conservatives in the United States were not only more likely than liberals to endorse specific conspiracy theories, but they were also more likely to espouse conspiratorial worldviews in general (r = .27, 95% CI: .24, .30). Importantly, extreme conservatives were significantly more likely to engage in conspiratorial thinking than extreme liberals (Hedges'g = .77,SE = .07,p < .001). The relationship between ideology and conspiratorial thinking was mediated by a strong distrust of officialdom and paranoid ideation, both of which were higher among conservatives, consistent with Hofstadter's account of the paranoid style in American politics.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN REFLECTIVE PROCESSES AND THE BELIEF IN CONSPIRACY THEORY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The article analyses socio-psychological features of the belief in conspiracy theories. The national and foreign approaches to the phenomenon of faith in conspiracy theories as a reaction to the long-term uncertainty are identified. The article emphasized that the spread of conspiracy theories in the modern world is facilitated by the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 and its recognition as a pandemic. Stressful events can sometimes contribute to the development of an individual’s conspiratorial thinking. The article emphasizes that the spread of such ideas can be contributed by vast amount of free time (because of introduced quarantine measures) and the active use of social networks. Incidentally, all this can stimulate the development of reflexive processes. The article considers the differential model of reflexivity (D. Leontiev, E. Osin), which differentiates positive (systemic reflection) and negative (quasi-reflection, introspection) reflexive processes. The empirical hypothesis of the study was to examine the existence of significant correlations between belief in conspiracy theories and negative reflexive processes. We conducted the empirical study on relations between reflexive abilities and belief in conspiracy theories associated with COVID-19. The features of the respondents’ reflexive abilities during quarantine restrictions were empirically determined. The studied respondents showed mainly quasi-reflection, which led to unfounded fantasies and acted as a form of psychological protection for moving away from an unpleasant situation, the real solution of which is unattainable. Systemic reflection was less developed, which indicated low adaptability to life situations, as well as described the nature of the analysis of situations in which an individual finds him/herself. The respondents had poor ability to outline life situations in all their interacting aspects. The performed study on existence and strength of faith in conspiracy theories points to characteristic manifestations of conspiracy theories. The most popular theory among respondents was the belief that coronavirus infection was a biological weapon and was created deliberately in secret laboratories.  The statistical analysis demonstrated a significant two-way relation between quasi-reflection and belief in conspiracy theories.  

Coronavirus conspiracy beliefs, mistrust, and compliance with government guidelines in England.

An invisible threat has visibly altered the world. Governments and key institutions have had to implement decisive responses to the danger posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Imposed change will increase the likelihood that alternative explanations take hold. In a proportion of the general population there may be strong scepticism, fear of being misled, and false conspiracy theories. Our objectives were to estimate the prevalence of conspiracy thinking about the pandemic and test associations with reduced adherence to government guidelines. A non-probability online survey with 2501 adults in England, quota sampled to match the population for age, gender, income, and region. Approximately 50% of this population showed little evidence of conspiracy thinking, 25% showed a degree of endorsement, 15% showed a consistent pattern of endorsement, and 10% had very high levels of endorsement. Higher levels of coronavirus conspiracy thinking were associated with less adherence to all government guidelines and less willingness to take diagnostic or antibody tests or to be vaccinated. Such ideas were also associated with paranoia, general vaccination conspiracy beliefs, climate change conspiracy belief, a conspiracy mentality, and distrust in institutions and professions. Holding coronavirus conspiracy beliefs was also associated with being more likely to share opinions. In England there is appreciable endorsement of conspiracy beliefs about coronavirus. Such ideas do not appear confined to the fringes. The conspiracy beliefs connect to other forms of mistrust and are associated with less compliance with government guidelines and greater unwillingness to take up future tests and treatment.

Jewish Capitalists, Jewish Bolsheviks: Conspiracy Thinking and Modern Judeophobia

We live in dark times, as Hannah Arendt might have said. Just open the Jewish or general press on any given day and you will read about swastikas scrawled on buildings. Or hear about the reiteration of anti-Jewish tropes by members of Congress or by the president of the United States or by any number of European prime ministers. You might discover the latest instance of the desecration of Jewish cemeteries or the burning of synagogues. Or perhaps you will linger on the most recent incident of the beating of Jews in New York or Paris or Berlin. Most spectacularly, white Christian nationalists or militant jihadi terrorists have slain Jews en masse in several horrific events, most famously at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and in the linked attacks on Charlie Hebdo and Hyper Cacher in Paris.

CONSPIRACY THINKING INVENTORY (CTI) – CONSTRUCTION AND VALIDATION STUDY

Conspiracy thinking is defined as a form of reasoning about events and situations of personal, social, and historical significance, where “conspiracies” are a dominant factor. This research aims to construct and validate Conspiracy Thinking Inventory (CTI), which purpose is to measure general propensity for conspiracy thinking, rather than beliefs in specific conspiracy theories. Study 1 (N = 356), a preliminary version of CTI consisting of 93 items, was constructed and subsequently shortened to 23 items arranged in 4 facets: Control of Information, Government Malfeasance, Threat towards One’s Own Country, Threat towards Personal Well-being. In Study 2 (N = 180), factor structure and validity of CTI were tested, resulting in a two-factor solution: Conspiracy Thinking Aimed at Health and Well-being (CT), and Attitudes towards the Government Institutions and Representatives (AtGI). The pattern of correlations between CT and relevant constructs confirmed its convergent validity, and CT was also shown to be a good predictor of beliefs in specific conspiracy theories. Previously confirmed convergent and criterion validity and its psychometric characteristics show that CTI may be used as an indicator of conspiracy thinking. Nevertheless, divergent validity has yet to be confirmed by using other constructs (e.g., personality traits). Despite not having been foreseen, extraction of the second factor might be the consequence of using items with predominantly political content. This factor was not correlated with any external criteria which indicate that it does not reflect conspiracy thinking.

Diversifying Conspiracy Beliefs and Populist Ideologies in the Chinese Context

AbstractWhile previous research suggests that conspiratorial reasoning and populist ideology often walk hand‐in‐hand, this study explores their correlations by considering their internal heterogeneity in the sociopolitical context of China. Through an online survey (N = 807), the present investigation identifies two subtypes of populism (right‐ vs. responsibility‐oriented), alongside two subtypes of conspiracy beliefs (pro‐system vs. anti‐system), and examines the associations between them. The results demonstrate that while China's right‐oriented populism is positively correlated with anti‐system conspiratorial beliefs, it has no significant correlations with pro‐system conspiracy thinking. Responsibility‐driven populism, however, is positively correlated with pro‐system conspiratorial mindsets, and negatively correlated with anti‐system conspiratorial beliefs. This study moves away from viewing populism and conspiracy belief as homogeneous concepts, providing an often‐neglected Chinese context for these political–psychological ideations.

Political consequences of conspiratorial thinking: evidence from 2016 Italian constitutional referendum

Recently, the literature has devoted increasing attention to beliefs in conspiracy theories. Among various aspects of the phenomenon, it was found that conspiratorial attitudes are associated with political behaviour. In Italy, previous research found that Five Star Movement and right-wing parties' voters tend to show higher levels of conspiratorial thinking than other voters. However, the relationship between conspiracism and vote choice remains obscure. By analysing an Italian panel survey data collected before and after 2016 constitutional referendum, we show that the belief in conspiracy theories is associated with referendum vote choices, even when controlling for partisan opinions, leaders’ evaluations, and perceived economic wealth. Moreover, the effect of conspiracism on referendum vote choice proves to be stronger among the supporters of the government, which promoted the referendum. This paper aims at shedding light on the processes of opinion formation and how these are affected by external attitudes, such as conspiratorial ones.

جائحة کورونا، والتفکير التآمري مقابل التفکير الإيجابي وانتشار القلق لدي الکويتيين

يهدف البحث الحالي إلى التعرف على معدلات انتشار التفکير التآمري والتفکير الإيجابي والقلق لدى الکويتيين خلال فترة جائحة کورونا، فضلا عن معرفة العلاقة بينهم، وذلک لدي عينة من الکويتيين الذکور قوامها(50) فردا، تراوحت أعمارهم ما بين (27-65) عاما، وقد تم اختيار العينة بشکل قصدي، وقد طبق عليهم مقياس التفکير التآمري ومقياس جامعة الکويت للقلق ومقياس التقکير الايجابي بعد عمل نسخة الکترونية من المقاييس وارسالها عبر الانترنت، وذلک من خلال أحد برامج التواصل الاجتماعي (WhatsApp) . وأظهرت النتائج ارتفاع معدلات التفکير التآمري والقلق وانخفاض معدلات التفکير الايجابي لدى الکويتيين کما کشفت النتائج أيضا إلى وجود ارتباط سلبي دال جوهري بين التفکير الإيجابي وکل من القلق والتفکير التآمري، کذلک هناک ارتباط إيجابي بين التفکير التآمري والقلق. Corona Pandemic, Conspiracy Thinking versus Positive Thinking, and the prevalence of Anxiety in Kuwaitis Abstract The purpose of this study is to identify the prevalence of conspiracy thinking, positive thinking and anxiety among Kuwaitis during COVID-19 pandemic, as well as knowledge of the relationship between them. The final sample (50) was selected randomly from Kuwaiti citizens, ages ranged between (27-65) years, who completed the electronic copy of the scales on social networks (WhatsApp). the results indicate high rates of conspiracy thinking and anxiety, However low rates of positive thinking. Also, the results indicate significant negative correlations between positive thinking and both variables (Anxiety-Conspiracy Thinking).Also there is significant positive correlations between Anxiety and Conspiracy Thinking.