Linking paranormal and conspiracy beliefs to illusory pattern perception through signal detection theory

Müller, Petra; Hartmann, Matthias

doi:10.1038/s41598-023-36230-0

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 49 publications

(59 reference statements)

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“…The inability to preserve conceptual boundaries could also explain the higher divergence we found in compound generation in conspiracist texts. Conspiracy believers have been found to connect unrelated events and draw implausible connections (Müller & Hartmann, 2023; van der Wal et al., 2018; van Prooijen, Douglas, & De Inocencio, 2018). Likewise, conspiracist texts show lower textual cohesion compared to mainstream texts and conspiratorial semantic networks are more interconnected than those in mainstream texts (Miani et al., 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Loose and Tight: Creative Formation but Rigid Use of Nominal Compounds in Conspiracist Texts

Miani,

van der Plas,

Bangerter

2024

Journal of Creative Behavior

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Conspiracy theories (CTs) are spectacular narratives, widely spread, that pose societal threats. We test whether CTs might be linguistically creative products, which would facilitate their transmission and thereby account for their widespread popularity. We analyzed nominal compounds (e.g., mind control, carbon dioxide; N = 1,713,568) from a large corpus of conspiracist and mainstream texts matched by topic. In conspiracist texts, compounds showed greater originality, divergence, and sophistication, but they were used with lower frequency and were more often repeated in different contexts. This pattern suggests a creative aspect in the generation of compounds, coupled with rigidity in their use. We interpret these findings as an effect of loosely defined conceptual boundaries among conspiracist writers, in conjunction with social functions like status or group signaling. Our findings not only contribute to the discourse on creativity in CTs but also provide insights into the communicative advantage of CTs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Loose and Tight: Creative Formation but Rigid Use of Nominal Compounds in Conspiracist Texts

Miani,

van der Plas,

Bangerter

2024

Journal of Creative Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…LOOSE AND TIGHT The inability to preserve conceptual boundaries could also explain the higher divergence we found in compound generation in conspiracist texts. Conspiracy believers have been found to connect unrelated events and draw implausible connections (Müller & Hartmann, 2023;van Prooijen et al, 2018). Likewise, conspiracist texts show lower textual cohesion compared to mainstream texts and conspiratorial semantic networks are more interconnected than those in mainstream texts (Miani et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Loose and tight: Creative formation but rigid use of nominal compounds in conspiracist texts

Miani,

van der Plas,

Bangerter

2023

Preprint

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Conspiracy theories (CTs) are spectacular narratives, widely spread, that pose societal threats. We test whether CTs might be linguistically creative products, which would facilitate their transmission and thereby account for their widespread popularity. We analyzed nominal compounds (e.g., mind control, carbon dioxide; N = 1,713,568) from a large corpus of conspiracist and mainstream texts matched by topic. In conspiracist texts, compounds showed greater originality, divergence, and sophistication, but they were used with lower frequency and were more often repeated in different contexts. This pattern suggests a creative aspect in the generation of compounds, coupled with a rigidity in their use. We interpret these findings as an effect of loosely defined conceptual boundaries among conspiracist writers, in conjunction with social functions like status or group signaling. Our findings not only contribute to the discourse on creativity in CTs but also provide insights into the communicative advantage of CTs.

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Conspiracy beliefs and perceptual inference in times of political uncertainty

Leclercq,

Szaffarczyk,

Leptourgos

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Sociopolitical crises causing uncertainty have accumulated in recent years, providing fertile ground for the emergence of conspiracy ideations. Computational models constitute valuable tools for understanding the mechanisms at play in the formation and rigidification of these unshakeable beliefs. Here, the Circular Inference model was used to capture associations between changes in perceptual inference and the dynamics of conspiracy ideations in times of uncertainty. A bistable perception task and conspiracy belief assessment focused on major sociopolitical events were administered to large populations from three polarized countries. We show that when uncertainty peaks, an overweighting of sensory information is associated with conspiracy ideations. Progressively, this exploration strategy gives way to an exploitation strategy in which increased adherence to conspiracy theories is associated with the amplification of prior information. Overall, the Circular Inference model sheds new light on the possible mechanisms underlying the progressive strengthening of conspiracy theories when individuals face highly uncertain situations.

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Linking paranormal and conspiracy beliefs to illusory pattern perception through signal detection theory

Cited by 3 publications

References 49 publications

Loose and Tight: Creative Formation but Rigid Use of Nominal Compounds in Conspiracist Texts

Loose and Tight: Creative Formation but Rigid Use of Nominal Compounds in Conspiracist Texts

Loose and tight: Creative formation but rigid use of nominal compounds in conspiracist texts

Conspiracy beliefs and perceptual inference in times of political uncertainty

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