Political conspiracy theories as tools for mobilization and signaling

Marie, Antoine; Petersen, Michael Bang

doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101440

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…While we did not find an overall higher level of creativity in conspiracist texts, certain aspects of creativity might shed light on the transmission advantage of CTs and misinformation. Individuals instructed to convince others shift their language spontaneously towards persuasive rhetoric (Rocklage, Rucker, & Nordgren, 2018), a characteristic of both conspiracy believers and deliberate transmitters (Marie & Petersen, 2022; Wood & Douglas, 2013). Linguistic complexity, for example, is a persuasive device (Renouf, 2007; Vosoughi et al., 2017) that flatters the audience (Bruthiaux, 2000), exploiting their desire for uniqueness to enhance personal and social identity.…”

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

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“…Furthermore, if people believe that powerful outgroups conspire against them, it pictures the nation as important enough for others to want to undermine it (Cichocka et al, 2016). Finally, conspiracy beliefs may serve to signal ingroup devotion, and thus conspiracy theories are often relied on as tools for political mobilization (Marie and Petersen, 2022).…”

Section: Beliefs In Climate-related Conspiracies and Science Skepticismmentioning

confidence: 99%

National identity and environmentalism: why national narcissism might undermine pro-environmental efforts

Cislak,

Wojcik,

Cichocka

et al. 2024

Front. Soc. Psychol.

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The extant literature recognizes national identity as a pivotal factor motivating both individual and collective actions to tackle environmental problems. Yet, prior research shows mixed evidence for the relationship between national identity and environmentalism. Here, we propose a theoretical approach that articulates distinctions between different forms of national identity and their differential associations with environmental attitudes and behaviors. Specifically, we argue that it is key to differentiate national identification, which reflects a positive attachment to one's country and ties to other compatriots, from national narcissism, which reflects viewing one's country as exceptional and deserving of special treatment. In contrast to national identification, national narcissism is consistently associated with lower environmental concern and predicts support for anti-environmental policies. We show that this is likely due to national narcissism being linked to belief in climate-related conspiracy theories, support for policies that challenge external pressures yet present the nation in a positive light (e.g., greenwashing), and focusing on short-term benefits for the nation. Extending past individual-level findings, we report a pre-registered analysis across 56 countries examining whether national narcissism is also linked to objective indices of lower environmental protection at the country level of analysis. Results revealed a negative relationship between countries' environmental performance and country-level national narcissism (while adjusting for national identification and GDP per capita). We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our approach and the country-level findings for advancing research in the field.

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“…For example, in the context of the US, some studies suggest that Republicans are less critical (or even supportive) of the spread of conspiracy theories in comparison to Democrats (Dow et al, 2023;Green et al, 2023). These findings exemplify that social groups -in this case, defined by specific political attitudes and identity might differ in the normative evaluation of the spread conspiracy theories, considering that conspiracy narratives can become a means to enhance the group's image and status (Marie & Petersen, 2022;Robertson et al, 2022). In short, the negative impact that we argue conspiracy beliefs might have on interpersonal relationships could further depend on the normative evaluation people have of the spread of these beliefs.…”

Section: Conspiracy Theories and Social Normsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Belief in Conspiracy Theories Affect Interpersonal Relationships?

et al. 2023

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In recent years, researchers have begun to study the social consequences of conspiracy beliefs. However, little research has investigated the impact of conspiracy beliefs on interpersonal relationships. In this review, we draw attention to this issue by summarizing available empirical evidence and proposing potential social-psychological mechanisms to explain whether and why conspiracy theories affect interpersonal relationships. We firstly discuss that the attitude change that often accompanies the internalization of conspiracy beliefs might distance people’s opinions and, consequently, erode their relationships. Furthermore, we argue that the stigmatizing value of conspiracy theories can negatively affect the evaluation of conspiracy believers and discourage others from getting close to them. Finally, we consider that the misperception of social norms associated with the acceptance of certain conspiracy narratives can lead conspiracy believers to engage in non-normative behavior. Others are likely to perceive such behavior negatively, resulting in diminished interpersonal interaction. We highlight the need for further research to address these issues, as well as the potential factors that may prevent relationships being eroded by conspiracy beliefs.

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Political conspiracy theories as tools for mobilization and signaling

Cited by 16 publications

References 56 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

National identity and environmentalism: why national narcissism might undermine pro-environmental efforts

Does Belief in Conspiracy Theories Affect Interpersonal Relationships?

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