Conspiracy Theories: A Cultural Evolution Theory approach

Stubbersfield, Joseph M.

doi:10.31219/osf.io/hqkju

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 121 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This has been demonstrated experimentally using micro-society designs (Blaine & Boyer, 2018;Moussaïd et al, 2015;Stubbersfield et al, 2015), and has been found to be relevant to the propagation of rumors (Knapp, 1944), front page news (Davis & McLeod, 2003), 'fake news' (Acerbi, 2019), and urban legends (Stubbersfield et al, 2017). As conspiracy theories commonly feature threat-related information, this threat bias has been suggested as a reason for their successful propagation (Stubbersfield, 2021). However, it appears that the threat having its origins in dangerous others is more central to the appeal of conspiracy theories to those high in morbid curiosity than the mere presence of a threat or the nature of what is being threatened (e.g., health or liberty).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Curious about threats: Morbid curiosity and interest in conspiracy theories

Scrivner¹,

Stubbersfield²

2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Conspiracy theories provide explanations of important events or circumstances which allege a secret plot between two or more powerful actors as the salient cause, and commonly highlight the threat presented by the plot and its conspirators. Given the importance of threat in conspiracy theories, an interest in obtaining threat-related information might predispose one to be interested in conspiracy theory. Morbid curiosity describes the tendency to seek out information about threatening or dangerous situations and is associated with an interest in threat-related entertainment. Across three studies we investigated the relationship between morbid curiosity and conspiracy theories. We found that higher trait morbid curiosity was associated with higher general conspiracist beliefs (Study 1) and the perceived threat of conspiratorial explanations of events (Study 2). Using a behavioural choice paradigm, we found that participants who chose to investigate morbidly curious stimuli were more likely to choose to learn about conspiratorial explanations for events (Study 3). Greater curiosity about the minds of dangerous people was consistently the strongest predictor of conspiratorial ideation and interest. These results suggest that morbid curiosity is an important but hitherto unstudied predictor of conspiratorial interest and belief.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Curious about threats: Morbid curiosity and interest in conspiracy theories

Scrivner¹,

Stubbersfield²

2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This has been demonstrated experimentally using micro‐society designs (Blaine & Boyer, 2018; Moussaïd et al, 2015; Stubbersfield et al, 2015), and has been found to be relevant to the propagation of rumours (Knapp, 1944), front page news (Davis & McLeod, 2003), ‘fake news’ (Acerbi, 2019), urban legends (Fessler et al, 2014; Stubbersfield et al, 2017), and international supernatural beliefs (Fessler et al, 2014). As conspiracy theories commonly feature threat‐related information, this threat bias has been suggested as a reason for their successful propagation (Stubbersfield, 2021). However, it appears that the threat having its origins in dangerous others is more central to the appeal of conspiracy theories to those high in morbid curiosity than the mere presence of a threat or the nature of what is being threatened (e.g., health or liberty).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Curious about threats: Morbid curiosity and interest in conspiracy theories in US adults

Scrivner,

Stubbersfield

2023

British J of Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Conspiracy theories allege secret plots between two or more powerful actors to achieve an outcome, sometimes explaining important events or proposing alternative understandings of reality in opposition to mainstream accounts, and commonly highlight the threat presented by the plot and its conspirators. Research in psychology proposes that belief in conspiracy theories is motivated by a desire to understand threats and is predicted by increased anxiety. Morbid curiosity describes the tendency to seek out information about threatening or dangerous situations and is associated with an interest in threat‐related entertainment and increased anxiety. Across three studies, we investigated the relationship between morbid curiosity and conspiracy theories in US‐based samples. We found that higher trait morbid curiosity was associated with higher general conspiracist beliefs (Study 1) and the perceived threat of conspiratorial explanations of events (Study 2). Using a behavioural choice paradigm, we found that participants who chose to investigate morbidly curious stimuli were more likely to choose to learn about conspiratorial explanations for events (Study 3). Greater curiosity about the minds of dangerous people was consistently the strongest predictor of conspiratorial ideation and interest. These results suggest that morbid curiosity is an important but hitherto unstudied predictor of conspiratorial interest and belief.

show abstract

“…Regarding fake news in general and pseudo-science in particular, it is of great interest to identify specific cultural transmission biases within social media. Acerbi (2019), as well as Stubbersfield (2021), who puts a specific focus on conspiracy theories and modern urban myths, both investigated such biases. In the following, we shall inquire which content biases might help to explain the success of fake news about COVID-19.…”

Section: Cultural Evolutionary Biases and How They Influence The Spre...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since negative fake news affecting survival in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic largely relates to perceived threats (see WHO mythbusters, 2022), "negativity bias" and "threat bias" are presented together here. Acerbi (2019) as well as Stubbersfield (2021) relied on data from two experimental US studies by Fessler et al (2014). They aimed at showing an increased belief in information with negative connotations rather than positive information, even if the content is (ceteris paribus) identical.…”

Section: Content Biases: Negativity Bias and Threat Biasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pandemic and infodemic: the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 from a cultural evolutionary perspective

Häusler,

Baraghith

2023

Biol Philos

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper, we critically consider the analogy between “infodemic” and “pandemic”, i.e. the spread of fake news about COVID-19 as a medial virus and the infection with the biological virus itself from the perspective of cultural evolutionary theory (CET). After confronting three major shortcomings of the ‘infodemic’ concept, we use CET as a background framework to analyze this phenomenon. To do so, we summarize which bi-ases are crucial for transmission in terms of cultural selection and how transmission is restricted by filter bubbles or echo chambers acting as TRIMS (transmission isolating mechanisms) post “infection”, which isolate false from trustworthy scientific information in the context of the Corona pandemic. This is followed by a demonstration of the threat to biological fitness posed by the effects of an infection with fake news, which leads to a reduced willingness to vaccinate and follow health measures. We identify fake news on Covid as pseudoscience, trying to immunize itself from external influences. We then address the question of how to combat the infodemic. Since debunking strategies, such as warnings by fact-checking, have proven relatively ineffective in combating fake news, the inoculation theory from psychology might offer an alternative solution. Through its underlying ‘prebunking strategy’, which educates individuals about the risks and tactics of fake news prior to a potential infection, they could be ‘immunized’ in advance, similar to a virological vaccination. Although we recognize that the pandemic/infodemic analogy is in fact far from perfect, we believe that CET could provide a theoretical underpinning in order to give much more semantic depth to the concept ‘infodemic’.

show abstract

Conspiracy Theories: A Cultural Evolution Theory approach

Cited by 3 publications

References 121 publications

Curious about threats: Morbid curiosity and interest in conspiracy theories

Curious about threats: Morbid curiosity and interest in conspiracy theories

Curious about threats: Morbid curiosity and interest in conspiracy theories in US adults

Pandemic and infodemic: the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 from a cultural evolutionary perspective

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About