Believing in Conspiracy Theories: Evidence from an Exploratory Analysis of Italian Survey Data

Mancosu, Moreno; Vassallo, Salvatore; Vezzoni, Cristiano

doi:10.1080/13608746.2017.1359894

Cited by 98 publications

(153 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

131

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…A total of 13 conspiracy beliefs were measured to include a multiplicity of events and concerns such as 9/11, diseases, economic crisis. Some items were adapted from beliefs investigated in other measures (i.e., Swami et al, ), others were generated focusing on beliefs with wide currency in Italy (vaccines, chemtrails—Mancosu, Vassallo, & Vezzoni, ). A fictitious conspiracy belief (item 10) was also included to tap into the “monological” processes that use one conspiratorial ideation as evidence for other – even fictitious – conspiracy beliefs (Swami et al, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moral foundations, worldviews, moral absolutism and belief in conspiracy theories

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the present research, we examined whether individual differences in basic moral concerns might be related to a greater endorsement of conspiracy theories. Building on the notion that conspiracy theories often deal with super-individual relevant events in which a group perspective is central, we proposed that individual differences in moral concerns pertaining to group- and community-concerns (i.e., binding moral foundations) rather than to individual well-being (i.e., individualising moral foundations) would be positively associated with conspiracy beliefs. We further hypothesised that such relations would be totally mediated by beliefs in a dangerous world and by embracing moral absolutism. We found support for these predictions in two community samples (Ns: 319; 514). Theoretical implications were discussed.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moral foundations, worldviews, moral absolutism and belief in conspiracy theories

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Other investigations point in particular to the link between conspiracy belief and lower levels of education (e.g., Bogart & Bird, ; Goertzel, ; Mancosu, Vassallo, & Vezzoni, ; Oliver & Wood, ). Two recent investigations have attempted to explain this relationship.…”

Section: Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, research demonstrates that certain political convictions are more strongly associated with conspiracy beliefs than others (Mancuso et al, ). van Prooijen, Krouwel, and Pollet () demonstrated that conspiracy beliefs are most prevalent at the political extremes.…”

Section: Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Conspiracy Theories

Douglas

Uscinski

Sutton

et al. 2019

Political Psychology

885

907

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Scholarly efforts to understand conspiracy theories have grown significantly in recent years, and there is now a broad and interdisciplinary literature. In reviewing this body of work, we ask three specific questions. First, what factors are associated with conspiracy beliefs? Our review of the literature shows that conspiracy beliefs result from a range of psychological, political, and social factors. Next, how are conspiracy theories communicated? Here, we explain how conspiracy theories are shared among individuals and spread through traditional and social media platforms. Next, what are the societal risks and rewards associated with conspiracy theories? By focusing on politics and science, we argue that conspiracy theories do more harm than good. We conclude by suggesting several promising avenues for future research.

show abstract

“…Religiosity has also been shown to be associated with higher trust in institutions in general, and political institutions in particular (e.g., Cook & Gronke, ). It has also been found that higher levels of political trust in civic and political institutions are associated with lower conspiracy beliefs (Einstein & Glick, ; Swami et al ., , ; but see Mancosu et al ., ). This leads us to suggest that political trust should inhibit and suppress the effect of religiosity on conspiracy beliefs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In recent years, the psychology of beliefs in conspiracy theories has attracted the attention of both the media and scholars (Douglas, Sutton, & Cichocka, ; Mancosu, Vassallo, & Vezzoni, ; Swami et al ., ; van Prooijen & Douglas, ). Conspiracy theories can be defined as a subset of false narratives in which the ultimate cause of an event is believed to be due to a malevolent plot by multiple actors working together (Swami & Furnham, ; Swami et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking the relationship between religiosity and conspiracy beliefs in Australia

Jasinskaja‐Lahti

Jetten

2019

British J Social Psychol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We examined the interrelation between religiosity, anti‐intellectualism, and political mistrust in predicting belief in conspiracy theories. Improving on previous psychological research on the link between religiosity and societal and political attitudes, we assessed the predictive power of religious self‐categorization and the importance attached to one's own (non)religious worldview predicting belief in conspiracy theories separately. Applying quota sampling in a study in Australia (N = 515), the sample consisted of 48.9% believers (i.e., those who self‐categorized as religious persons) and 51.1% non‐believers (i.e., those who self‐categorized as non‐religious persons). The results showed that believers and non‐believers did not differ in the belief in conspiracy theories. Unpacking this further though, we did find that the extent to which religious worldviews were endorsed predicted belief in conspiracy theories. Among believers, the importance attached to their religious worldview was directly associated with higher belief in conspiracy theories and this link was partly mediated by higher anti‐intellectualism. Political trust, in turn, served as an inhibitor of the link between religiosity and conspiracy beliefs. Among non‐believers, there was no direct association between the importance of non‐religious worldview and belief in conspiracy theories. However, we found that higher trust in political institutions accounted for the negative association between non‐religious worldview and lower belief in conspiracy theories. The results underline the importance of distinguishing religiosity as a self‐categorization and religiosity as a worldview. We find that it is not the self‐categorization as religious, but the extent to which religious worldviews are endorsed that could predict people's beliefs in conspiracy theories.

show abstract

Believing in Conspiracy Theories: Evidence from an Exploratory Analysis of Italian Survey Data

Cited by 98 publications

References 47 publications

Moral foundations, worldviews, moral absolutism and belief in conspiracy theories

Moral foundations, worldviews, moral absolutism and belief in conspiracy theories

Understanding Conspiracy Theories

Unpacking the relationship between religiosity and conspiracy beliefs in Australia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About