The Influence of Control on Belief in Conspiracy Theories: Conceptual and Applied Extensions

Abstract

SummaryThreats to control have been found to increase belief in conspiracy theories. We argue, however, that previous research observing this effect was limited in two ways. First, previous research did not exclude the possibility that affirming control might reduce conspiracy beliefs. Second, because of artificial lab procedures, previous findings provide little information about the external validity of the control threat–conspiracy belief relationship. In Study 1, we address the first limitation and find that affirming control indeed reduces belief in conspiracy theories as compared with a neutral baseline condition. In Study 2, we address the second limitation of the literature. In a large‐scale US sample, we find that a societal threat to control, that citizens actually experienced, predicts belief in a range of common conspiracy theories. Taken together, these findings increase insight in the fundamental relationship between the human need for control and the tendency to believe in conspiracy theories. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Organizational Conspiracy Beliefs: Implications for Leadership Styles and Employee Outcomes

“…Integrating this insight with the notion that feelings of uncertainty stimulate belief in conspiracy theories (Sullivan et al 2010; Van Prooijen, in press; Van Prooijen and Acker 2015; Van Prooijen and Jostmann 2013; Whitson and Galinsky 2008), it can be expected that these aversive leadership styles predict organizational conspiracy beliefs. Specifically, due to their influence on the experience of job insecurity, despotic and laissez-faire leadership stimulate employees to make sense of their leader’s behavior, and of the circumstances that they find themselves in.…”

“…Such consequence-cause matching in conspiracy beliefs has been found to be attributable to people’s sense-making motivation (Van Prooijen and Van Dijk 2014). Moreover, people believe more strongly in conspiracy theories when they generally experience a lack of control (Van Prooijen and Acker 2015; Whitson and Galinsky 2008; see also Sullivan et al 2010). Finally, the experience of subjective uncertainty predicts the psychological processes underlying belief in conspiracy theories (Newheiser et al 2011; Van Prooijen, in press; Van Prooijen and Jostmann 2013).…”

Does extreme political ideology predict conspiracy beliefs, economic evaluations and political trust? Evidence from Sweden

“…Empirical findings confirm these ideas. For instance, experimental conditions that induce a lack of control or uncertainty increase belief in conspiracies as compared to other conditions (Newheiser, Farias, & Tausch, 2011;Sullivan, Landau, & Rothschild, 2010;van Prooijen & Acker, 2015;van Prooijen & Jostmann, 2013;Whitson & Galinsky, 2008). This implies that conspiracy theories provide epistemic clarity by explaining events through an array of explicit presumptions about the functioning of the world.…”

The Conspiratorial Style in Lay Economic Thinking

“…Motivational processes have also been underlined. A motivation to restore a sense of certainty and a sense of control [45][46][47] would favor conspiracist ideation, as well as a stronger need for uniqueness [48]. Collectively, these findings suggest that the conspiracist mindset has some functional value, at least for some individuals.…”