Conspiracy beliefs of Italian voters for populist parties: The moderated mediational role of political interest and ideological attitudes

Salvati, Marco; Giacomantonio, Mauro; Pellegrini, Valerio; Cristofaro, Valeria De; Leone, Luigi

doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103508

Cited by 17 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Our study also revealed positive associations between right-wing political orientation, endorsing conspiracy theories, and the wish for a strong leader. Such a finding is in line with the claim that the pandemic has been politicized in some Western countries (including Italy; Salvati et al, 2022 ), resulting in conservatives and voters of right-wing populist parties endorsing conspiracy theory beliefs to a higher extent than left-oriented voters (e.g., Havey, 2020 ; Farias and Pilati, 2021 ; Ruisch et al, 2021 ). Indeed, since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a convergence of supporters of conspiracy theories and the extreme political right in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Hungary, and Italy (e.g., Buranyi, 2020 ; Calvillo et al, 2020 ; Havey, 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Do we need a strong captain to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic? Social identification, conspiracy theory beliefs, and the wish for a strong leader

Moscatelli

Graziani²,

Botindari³

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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IntroductionIn times of great uncertainty and hardship, calls for a strong leader tend to arise. The present study delved into this issue by examining possible sociopsychological antecedents of the wish for a strong leader during the COVID-19 crisis.MethodsWe examined the role of social identification, belief in conspiracy theories related to COVID-19, and trust in various relevant social actors in a sample of 350 Italian citizens.ResultsStructural equation modeling analyses showed that identification with Italians was related to a lower wish for a strong leader through the mediation of trust. Identification with Europeans had a direct and negative association with the wish for a strong leader. Finally, greater endorsement of conspiracy beliefs was related to a greater wish for a strong leader, directly and through diminished trust.DiscussionThese findings suggest that belief in conspiracy theories might drive individuals to depart from democratic principles, whereas relying on meaningful social identities can effectively contrast possible authoritarian turns brought about by a global societal crisis, such as the coronavirus outbreak.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Do we need a strong captain to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic? Social identification, conspiracy theory beliefs, and the wish for a strong leader

Moscatelli

Graziani²,

Botindari³

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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show abstract

“…Moreover, Kefford et al (2021) show that some dimensions of populism, such as attitudes toward populist discursive and performative styles, traditionally absent from demand-side studies, can also be incorporated in attitudinal surveys. Similarly, recent studies demonstrate that including in the analysis different but related constructs such as narcissism (Arias-Maldonado et al, forthcoming;Mayer et al, 2020) or belief in conspiracy theories (Castanho Silva et al, 2017;Salvati et al, 2022).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 94%

Recalibrating populism measurement tools: Methodological inconsistencies and challenges to our understanding of the relationship between the supply- and demand-side of populism

Osuna

Rama

2022

Front. Sociol.

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The analysis of the congruence between the demand- and supply-side of populism is key to understand the relationship between citizens and populist parties, and to what extent this is mainly a “pull” or “push” phenomenon. Although the study of populism has experienced an unprecedented growth across social sciences during the last decade, research directly addressing this connection remains scarce. Moreover, most existing tools used to measure populism have not been created paying much consideration to their compatibility with those applied in the other side of this demand-supply divide. This article critically revisits the influential Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) Module 5 dataset to illustrate shortcomings regarding current efforts to measure the demand- and supply-sides of populism. We show that according to CSES data the, often presumed, correspondence between “populist” attitudes and likelihood of voting for “populist parties” is only partial and country specific. But more importantly, we identify three main potential sources of such mismatch linked to instrumental issues: (i) problems with the choice, design and operationalization of attitudinal survey items; (ii) problems in the assessment of parties' populism; and (iii) instrument biases that make them more effective with some varieties of populism than with others. These methodological limitations are hindering our ability to settle longstanding theoretical debates concerning the correspondence between the demand- and supply-side, the relative centrality of attributes, and varieties of populism. Therefore, we invite scholars working in this field to update existing measurement tools, or develop new ones, considering the multidimensionality of this latent construct, the diversity of movements, and the need to apply consistent criteria and operationalization techniques when assessing degrees of populism in citizens and parties.

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“…Even though LGBTQ+ individuals are more likely to have a longer formal education, they tend to only reach low payment managerial positions because of discrimination, not rather than their different skills or characteristics (Aksoy et al, 2019). Eventually, many LGBTQ+ individuals might feel discouraged when they comprehend emerging as a leader is a challenging process requiring too much effort compared to their heterosexual counterparts (Salvati et al, 2021a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual (LGB) peoples' leadership self-effectiveness: The roles of internalized sexual stigma, LGB positive identity, and traditional masculinity

Salvati

Sari²,

Pellegrini³

et al. 2023

Front. Sociol.

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Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of the minority stress model and the model of positive identity in sexual minority people, the current research contributes to fill a gap in the previous literature, investigating the relationships among leadership self-effectiveness, internalized sexual stigma, positive identity, and adherence to traditional masculinity of gay, lesbian, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. Through a correlational study (N = 449), we collected data from 229 gay/bisexual men (51%) and 220 lesbian/bisexual women (49%). We hypothesized that lower internalized sexual stigma, higher LGB positive identity, and higher adherence to traditional masculinity were associated to higher self-perceived effectiveness. The interactive relationships among the variables, including participants' gender, were investigated from an exploratory perspective. The hypotheses were tested through two moderated regression models and the results confirmed that participants with lower internalized sexual stigma and higher LGB positive identity were more likely to perceive themselves as potential effective leaders. Also, the results showed a significant interaction between participants' gender and traditional masculinity score suggesting that high adherence to traditional masculinity was a significant predictor of self-perceived effectiveness only for gay/bisexual men, but not for lesbian/bisexual women. This research contributes to provide both confirmation and novel insights into the key role of relevant factors impacting on LGB people's leadership self-effectiveness, which might contribute to preserve the gay glass ceiling effect. The presence of antidiscrimination policies in organizations not only might reduce reports of discrimination but also enhance LGB employees' positive sense of self, which is a critical aspect to emerge as a leader.

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Conspiracy beliefs of Italian voters for populist parties: The moderated mediational role of political interest and ideological attitudes

Cited by 17 publications

References 57 publications

Do we need a strong captain to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic? Social identification, conspiracy theory beliefs, and the wish for a strong leader

Do we need a strong captain to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic? Social identification, conspiracy theory beliefs, and the wish for a strong leader

Recalibrating populism measurement tools: Methodological inconsistencies and challenges to our understanding of the relationship between the supply- and demand-side of populism

Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual (LGB) peoples' leadership self-effectiveness: The roles of internalized sexual stigma, LGB positive identity, and traditional masculinity

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