Right-wing authoritarianism as a predictor of pro-establishment versus anti-establishment conspiracy theories

Australasian Public Awareness and Belief in Conspiracy Theories: Motivational Correlates

“…This may be useful, given that a single dimension may not provide adequate fidelity to capture the nature of political beliefs; it is also consistent with ideological belief as organized around two orthogonal dimensions relating to social and economic conservatism, as suggested to overlap with RWA and SDO, respectively (Duckitt, 2001). Specifically, research has shown that Authoritarianism is a stronger predictor of conspiracism as compared with SDO (Bruder et al, 2013), especially for pro-establishment conspiracies as they may threaten established social order and authorities (Wood & Gray, 2019). Therefore, a multidimensional conceptualization of political ideology is important in exploring the relationships with conspiracism given the societal focus of many narratives.…”

COVID-19: Belief in Conspiracy Theories and the Need for Quarantine

“…Stronger conspiracy beliefs are associated with higher levels of powerlessness (Abalakina-Paap et al, 1999;Bruder et al, 2013;Jolley & Douglas, 2014) and lower levels of control (van Prooijen & Acker, 2015). Correlations were found between conspiracy theories and authoritarianism (Abalakina-Paap et al, 1999;Bruder et al, 2013;Wood & Gray, 2019), personal efficacy (Bruder et al, 2013), and belief in a dangerous world (Hart & Graeter, 2018).…”

Diversifying Conspiracy Beliefs and Populist Ideologies in the Chinese Context

“…When measuring the Chinese people's conspiratorial mindset, this study selected and adapted 10 items from Wood and Gray's () original scale regarding pro‐/anti‐ establishment conspiracy theory. Conspiracy beliefs were measured by agreement on a seven‐point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 7 = strongly agree), with five pro‐establishment conspiracy theory statements, and five anti‐establishment conspiracy theory statements, namely: “many of the foreigners coming into this country are here as part of a deliberate plan to radically change our society” (pro); “those in power are secretly campaigning to destroy individual freedom in this country” (anti); “those in power will inevitably abuse their positions by conspiring against their own people” (anti); “the silly, pointless stories commonly seen in the mass media are often planted by those in power to distract the population from the real problems in society” (anti); “social deviants are plotting to undermine the foundations of Chinese society” (pro); “a global government will soon seize control of individual nations from their own governments” (pro); “governments and state‐owned research institutions routinely falsify or cover up scientific findings to serve their own selfish ends” (anti); “the Chinese government is constantly searching for ways to control the population's actions, speech, and even thoughts” (anti); “many so‐called ‘terrorist attacks’ are really orchestrated in secret by the Western governments in order to have an excuse to invade the Arab nations for their interests ” (pro); “the Western governments often use popular culture, such as the Hollywood films and commercial brands, to Westernize the Chinese society” (pro).…”

“…Drawing on aforementioned discussion, this study suggests that conspiracy attitudes in China are not homogeneous, but include various subtypes. Wood and Gray's () work makes a pertinent reference, identifying two types of conspiracy theories: “anti‐establishment (system)” conspiracy theories, which challenge the existing social order; and “pro‐establishment (system)” conspiracy theories, which seek to justify and reinforce the social order against external threats. This study draws upon their classifications, examining associations between Chinese people's endorsements of each subtype of conspiracy theory and populist ideology.…”