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

van Prooijen, Jan‐Willem; Acker, Michele

doi:10.1002/acp.3161

Cited by 407Misinformation and Its ImpactsParanormal Experiences and BeliefsSocial and Intergroup Psychology

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

van Prooijen, Jan‐Willem, Acker, Michele·2015·Applied Cognitive Psychology

DOI 10.1002/acp.3161

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Abstract

Summary Threats 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.

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Conspiracy belief is reduced when people's sense of control is affirmed.
“and is reduced when their sense of control is affirmed (van Prooijen & Acker, 2015).”
From The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories (2017) · cites this paper as van Prooijen & Acker, 2015
Compared with baseline conditions, conspiracy belief is heightened when people feel unable to control outcomes.
“Experiments have shown that compared with baseline conditions, conspiracy belief is heightened when people feel unable to control outcomes”
From The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories (2017) · cites this paper as van Prooijen & Acker, 2015

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Dentith, M. R. X. (2016) · Social Epistemology · doi:10.1080/02691728.2016.1172362 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
An automated pipeline for the discovery of conspiracy and conspiracy theory narrative frameworks: Bridgegate, Pizzagate and storytelling on the web
Tangherlini, T. R., Shahsavari, S., Shahbazi, B., Ebrahimzadeh, E., & Roychowdhury, V. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0233879 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
“Conspiracy theories and their factual counterpart, conspiracies, have long been studied by scholars from a broad range of disciplines, including political science [1][2][3][4], philosophy [5], psychology [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15], law [16], sociology [17][18], linguistics and language use [19][20], folklore…”
Background
Parent psychology and the decision to delay childhood vaccination.
Callaghan, T., Motta, M. P., Sylvester, S. M., Trujillo, K. L., & Blackburn, C. C. (2019) · Social Science & Medicine (1967) · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112407 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
The impact of economic inequality on conspiracy beliefs
Casara, B. G. S., Suitner, C., & Jetten, J. (2021) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104245 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
Does extreme political ideology predict conspiracy beliefs, economic evaluations and political trust? Evidence from Sweden
Krouwel, A., Kutiyski, Y., van Prooijen, J.-W., Martinsson, J., & Markstedt, E. (2017) · Journal of Social and Political Psychology · doi:10.5964/jspp.v5i2.745 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Organizational Conspiracy Beliefs: Implications for Leadership Styles and Employee Outcomes
van Prooijen, J., & de Vries, R. E. (2015) · Journal of Business and Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10869-015-9428-3 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
Anxious attachment and belief in conspiracy theories
Green, R., & Douglas, K. M. (2018) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2017.12.023 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
“Experimental research supports this view, showing that when people were reminded of a time when they had no control, endorsement of conspiracy theories increased, whereas belief decreased when a sense of control was induced (van Prooijen & Acker, 2015).”
Searching for General Model of Conspiracy Theories and Its Implication for Public Health Policy: Analysis of the Impacts of Political, Psychological, Structural Factors on Conspiracy Beliefs about the COVID-19 Pandemic
Kim, S., & Kim, S. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18010266 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
“Generally, lower education levels increase beliefs in conspiracy theories [7,61,64].”
Background
Medical disinformation and the unviable nature of COVID-19 conspiracy theories
Grimes, D. R. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0245900 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
“Instilling a sense of control: Acceptance of conspiracy theory may be a reaction to a diminished sense of control in one’s circumstances, even if those circumstances are not directly related to the subject of the conspiracy [25, 26]).”
Background
Investigating the Links Between Cultural Values and Belief in Conspiracy Theories: The Key Roles of Collectivism and Masculinity
Adam‐Troian, J., Wagner‐Egger, P., Motyl, M. S., Arciszewski, T., Imhoff, R., Zimmer, F., Klein, O., Babińska, M., Bangerter, A., Bilewicz, M., et al. (2020) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12716 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Revenge buying after the lockdown: Based on the SOR framework and TPB model
Liu, Y., Cai, L., Ma, F., & Wang, X. (2023) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103263 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Sometimes inclusion breeds suspicion: Self‐uncertainty and belongingness predict belief in conspiracy theories
van Prooijen, J. (2016) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2157 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
The entertainment value of conspiracy theories
van Prooijen, J., Ligthart, J., Rosema, S., & Xu, Y. (2021) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjop.12522 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Beliefs in conspiracy theories following ostracism
Poon, K.-T., Chen, Z., & Wong, W.-Y. (2020) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167219898944 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
“In contrast, individuals high in analytical thinking (Swami et al., 2014) and perceived control (van Prooijen & Acker, 2015) tend to be less likely to endorse conspiracy theories.”
Background
COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: Relations with anxiety, quality of life, and schemas
Leibovitz, T., Shamblaw, A. L., Rumas, R., & Best, M. W. (2021) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.110704 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
“…Prooijen, 2020; Van Prooijen & Douglas, 2017) and in situations characterized by increased uncertainty, anxiety, and perceived lack of control (Bruder et al., 2013; GrzesiakFeldman, 2013; Van Prooijen & Acker, 2015; Van Prooijen & Douglas, 2017; Van Prooijen & Jostmann, 2013; Whitson et al., 2015).”
The Conspiracy Mentality Scale
Stojanov, A., & Halberstadt, J. (2019) · Social Psychology · doi:10.1027/1864-9335/a000381 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
The cultural dimension of intergroup conspiracy theories
van Prooijen, J., & Song, M. (2020) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjop.12471 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
“…experimental manipulations that induce a lack of control among participants increase belief in conspiracy theories (Whitson & Galinsky, 2008; Van Prooijen & Acker, 2015), as do other concepts related to feelings of powerlessness such as threats to the societal status quo (Jolley, Douglas, &…”
BackgroundResult
Individual, intergroup and nation-level influences on belief in conspiracy theories
Hornsey, M., Bierwiaczonek, K., Sassenberg, K., & Douglas, K. M. (2022) · Nature Reviews Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44159-022-00133-0 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Anti-Vaccination Beliefs and Unrelated Conspiracy Theories
Goldberg, Z. J., & Richey, S. (2020) · World Affairs · doi:10.1177/0043820020920554 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
To what extent are conspiracy theorists concerned for self versus others? A COVID‐19 test case
Hornsey, M. J., Chapman, C. M., Álvarez, B., Bentley, S. V., Casara, B. G. S., Crimston, C. R., Ionescu, O., Krug, H., Selvanathan, H. P., Steffens, N. K., et al. (2021) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2737 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
“…in conspiracy theorising, an aspirational goal would be a long- term process of systemic change to reduce the feelings of mistrust, powerlessness, and alienation that have been shown empirically to provide the breeding ground for conspiracist thinking (Hornsey, 2020; van Prooijen & Acker, 2015).”
Background
Covid-19 conspiracy beliefs and containment-related behaviour: The role of political trust
Karić, T., & Međedović, J. (2020) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.110697 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Something’s Going on Here
Hart, J., & Graether, M. (2018) · Journal of Individual Differences · doi:10.1027/1614-0001/a000268 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
“This possibility has been seen in research showing that asking participants to imagine scenarios in which or topics about which they had no control increased their endorsement of specific conspiracy theories (Sullivan, Landau, & Rothschild, 2010; van Prooijen & Acker, 2015).”
Does lack of control lead to conspiracy beliefs? A meta‐analysis
Stojanov, A., & Halberstadt, J. (2020) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2690 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
The Psychology of Fake News
Greifeneder, R., Jaffé, M. E., Newman, E. J., & Schwarz, N. (2020) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780429295379 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
The role of system identity threat in conspiracy theory endorsement
Federico, C. M., Williams, A. L., & Vitriol, J. A. (2018) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2495 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
“…who believe they are faced with a threatening loss of control tend to engage in more conspiracy thinking and endorse CTs more strongly (Kay, Gaucher, Napier, Callan, & Laurin, 2008; Kramer, 1994; Sullivan, Landau, & Rothschild, 2010; van Prooijen & Acker, 2015; Whitson & Galinsky, 2008).”
Background
Increased conspiracy beliefs among ethnic and Muslim minorities
van Prooijen, J., Staman, J., & Krouwel, A. P. M. (2018) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3442 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
The usual suspects: How psychological motives and thinking styles predict the endorsement of well‐known and COVID ‐19 conspiracy beliefs
Gligorić, V., da Silva, M. M., Eker, S., van Hoek, N., Nieuwenhuijzen, E., Popova, U., & Zeighami, G. (2021) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3844 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
“Indeed, many studies showed that people who lost control or have a high need for it endorse conspiracy theories (van Prooijen & Acker, 2015).”
Background
Why are conspiracy theories more successful in some countries than in others? An exploratory study on Internet users from 22 Western and non-Western countries
Cordonier, L., Cafiero, F., & Bronner, G. (2021) · Social Science Information · doi:10.1177/05390184211018961 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
“Finally, some studies have found that conspiratorial beliefs are negatively related to educational level (Douglas, Sutton, Callan, et al., 2016; Mancosu, Vassallo, and Vezzoni, 2017; Van Prooijen, 2017).”
Influential
The language of conspiracy: A psychological analysis of speech used by conspiracy theorists and their followers on Twitter
Fong, A., Roozenbeek, J., Goldwert, D., Rathje, S., & van der Linden, S. (2021) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430220987596 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
“…correlates of conspiratorial thinking (e.g., Abalakina-Paap et al., 1999; Goertzel, 1994; Swami et al., 2011; van der Linden et al., 2020; van Prooijen et al., 2015), or how exposure to conspiracy theories affects (anti)social beliefs and behavior (van der Linden, 2015; see Douglas et al.,…”
Background
Believing in hidden plots is associated with decreased behavioral trust: Conspiracy belief as greater sensitivity to social threat or insensitivity towards its absence?
Meuer, M., & Imhoff, R. (2020) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2020.104081 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Conspiratorial thinking during COVID-19: The roles of paranoia, delusion-proneness, and intolerance of uncertainty
Larsen, E. M., Donaldson, K. R., Liew, M., & Mohanty, A. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/mb65f · Cited by 71 · see citing works
“Indeed, the salience of uncertainty is thought to affect the relationship of IU to CT (17), and experimental evidence suggests that CT can be both increased and decreased bymanipulating sense of control of outcomes (55).”
Background
Fact vs Fallacy: The Anti-Vaccine Discussion Reloaded
Stolle, L., Nalamasu, R., Pergolizzi, J. V., Varrassi, G., Magnusson, P., LeQuang, J. A., & Breve, F. (2020) · Advances in Therapy · doi:10.1007/s12325-020-01502-y · Cited by 69 · see citing works
“Conspiracy theories may be defined as the belief that multiple actors have forged a secret agreement to achieve a hidden and likely malevolent goal [35].”
Background
Characteristics of Antivaccine Messages on Social Media: Systematic Review
Wawrzuta, D., Jaworski, M., Gotlib, J., & Pańczyk, M. (2021) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/24564 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
“Clarifying parental concerns and involving parents in decisions regarding their child’s vaccination can reduce beliefs in conspiracies [69].”
There are higher levels of conspiracy beliefs in more corrupt countries
Alper, S. (2022) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2919 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Between Conspiracy Beliefs, Ingroup Bias, and System Justification: How People Use Defense Strategies to Cope With the Threat of COVID-19
Jutzi, C. A., Willardt, R. R., Schmid, P. C., & Jonas, E. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.578586 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Terrorism and conspiracy theories: A view from the 3N model of radicalization
Kruglanski, A. W., Molinario, E., Ellenberg, M. D., & Cicco, G. D. (2022) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101396 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Finding Someone to Blame: The Link Between COVID-19 Conspiracy Beliefs, Prejudice, Support for Violence, and Other Negative Social Outcomes
Šrol, J., Čavojová, V., & Mikušková, E. B. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.726076 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
“…the perception of patterns in random stimuli (Whitson and Galinsky, 2008), higher endorsement of popular specific conspiracy theories (Abalakina-Paap et al., 1999; van Prooijen and Acker, 2015), and higher generic conspiracy mentality (Bruder et al., 2013; but see Stojanov and Halberstadt, 2020).”
Background
Are individuals from lower social classes more susceptible to conspiracy theories? An explanation from the compensatory control theory
Mao, J., Yang, S., & Guo, Y. (2020) · Asian Journal Of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/ajsp.12417 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
“…income (Uscinski & Parent, 2014), lower employment security (Goertzel, 1994), and lower education level (Douglas et al., 2016; van Prooijen, 2017; van Prooijen & Acker, 2015) are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories. van Prooijen (2017) further found a serial mediation model of…”
BackgroundInfluential
Of precarity and conspiracy: Introducing a socio‐functional model of conspiracy beliefs
Adam‐Troian, J., Chayinska, M., Paladino, M. P., Uluğ, Ö. M., Vaes, J., & Wagner‐Egger, P. (2022) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12597 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
“…to greater endorsement of conspiracy beliefs (Garrett & Weeks, 2017; Goertzel, 1994; Green & Douglas, 2018; Mancosu et al., 2017; Oliver & Wood, 2014; Radnitz & Underwood, 2015; Stempel et al., 2007; Swami et al., 2016; Uscinski & Parent, 2014; van Prooijen, 2017; van Prooijen et al., 2015).”
Conspiracy Theories, Populism, and Epistemic Autonomy
Harris, K. R. (2022) · Journal of the American Philosophical Association · doi:10.1017/apa.2021.44 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Beyond belief: How social engagement motives influence the spread of conspiracy theories
Ren, Z., Dimant, E., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2022) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104421 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Who Believes in Conspiracy Theories in Great Britain and Europe?
Drochon, H. H. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0022 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
“Historia est magistra vitae”? The impact of historical victimhood on current conspiracy beliefs
Pantazi, M., Gkinopoulos, T., Witkowska, M., Klein, O., & Bilewicz, M. (2020) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430220968898 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
“Additionally, we did not find the expected relation between lack of control and belief in conspiracy theories supported by past research (e.g., Van Prooijen & Acker, 2015).”
BackgroundResultInfluential
The Pandemic of Argumentation
Oswald, S., Lewiński, M., Greco, S., & Villata, S. (2022) · Argumentation library · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-91017-4 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Investigating the identification-prejudice link through the lens of national narcissism: The role of defensive group beliefs
Bertin, P., Marinthe, G., Biddlestone, M., & Delouvée, S. (2021) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104252 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Multinational data show that conspiracy beliefs are associated with the perception (and reality) of poor national economic performance
Hornsey, M. J., Pearson, S. G., Kang, J., Sassenberg, K., Jetten, J., Lange, P. A. M. V., Medina, L. G., Amiot, C. E., Ausmees, L., Baguma, P., et al. (2022) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2888 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Conspiracy beliefs as an adaptation to historical trauma
Bilewicz, M. (2022) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101359 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Unravelling the relationship between populism and belief in conspiracy theories: The role of cynicism, powerlessness and zero‐sum thinking
Papaioannou, K., Pantazi, M., & van Prooijen, J. (2022) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjop.12602 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Psychological underpinnings of pandemic denial - patterns of disagreement with scientific experts in the German public during the COVID-19 pandemic
Rothmund, T., Farkhari, F., Ziemer, C., & Azevedo, F. (2022) · Public Understanding of Science · doi:10.1177/09636625211068131 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
The Role of Cognitive Biases In Conspiracy Beliefs: A Literature Review
Gagliardi, L. (2023) · Social Science Research Network · doi:10.1111/joes.12604 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“These results, combined with those which show an association between paranormal and conspiracy beliefs (e.g., van Prooijen & Acker, 2015), seem to suggest that the set of cognitive processes underlying anomalistic systems of beliefs may even be the same.”
Is democracy under threat? Why belief in conspiracy theories predicts autocratic attitudes
Papaioannou, K., Pantazi, M., & van Prooijen, J. (2023) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2939 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Finding meaning in the clouds: Illusory pattern perception predicts receptivity to pseudo-profound bullshit
Walker, A. C., Turpin, M. H., Stolz, J. A., Fugelsang, J. A., & Koehler, D. J. (2019) · Judgment and Decision Making · doi:10.1017/s193029750000334x · Cited by 43 · see citing works
“Congruent with this claim, enhancing people’s sense of con-trol has been demonstrated to lower conspiracy beliefs (Van Prooijen & Acker, 2015; Whitson & Galinsky, 2008).”
Irrational Beliefs about COVID-19: A Scoping Review
Magarini, F. M., Pinelli, M., Sinisi, A., Ferrari, S., Fazio, G. L. D., & Galeazzi, G. M. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18199839 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
To get vaccinated or not? Social psychological factors associated with vaccination intent for COVID-19
Baeza-Rivera, M. J., Salazar-Fernández, C., Araneda-Leal, L., & Manríquez-Robles, D. (2021) · Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology · doi:10.1177/18344909211051799 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Medical Mistrust, Discrimination, and the Domestic HIV Epidemic
Bogart, L. M., Takada, S., & Cunningham, W. E. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-48744-7_12 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Anxious and Angry: Emotional Responses to the COVID-19 Threat
Abadi, D., Arnaldo, I., & Fischer, A. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.676116 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Beyond the crime-terror nexus: socio-economic status, violent crimes and terrorism
Ljujic, V., van Prooijen, J., & Weerman, F. M. (2017) · Journal of Criminological Research Policy and Practice · doi:10.1108/jcrpp-02-2017-0010 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Regulatory Focus and Conspiratorial Perceptions: The Importance of Personal Control
Whitson, J., Kim, J., Wang, C. S., Menon, T., & Webster, B. D. (2018) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167218775070 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Australasian Public Awareness and Belief in Conspiracy Theories: Motivational Correlates
Marques, M. D., Ling, M., Williams, M. N., Kerr, J. R., & McLennan, J. (2021) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12746 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Who Is Willing to Get Vaccinated? A Study into the Psychological, Socio-Demographic, and Cultural Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccination Intentions
Giuliani, M., Ichino, A., Bonomi, A., Martoni, R. M., Cammino, S., & Gorini, A. (2021) · Vaccines · doi:10.3390/vaccines9080810 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Injustice Without Evidence: The Unique Role of Conspiracy Theories in Social Justice Research
van Prooijen, J. (2021) · Social Justice Research · doi:10.1007/s11211-021-00376-x · Cited by 44 · see citing works
The History of Conspiracy Theory Research
Bütter, M., & Knight, P. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0002 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
The generic conspiracist beliefs scale – 5: A short-form measure of conspiracist ideation
Kay, C. S., & Slovic, P. (2022) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2022.104315 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Willingness to vaccinate against SARS-CoV-2: The role of reasoning biases and conspiracist ideation
Bronstein, M. V., Kummerfeld, E., MacDonald, A. W., & Vinogradov, S. (2021) · Vaccine · doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.11.079 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
A neurocognitive model of ideological thinking
Zmigrod, L. (2021) · Politics and the Life Sciences · doi:10.1017/pls.2021.10 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
“…for intervention studies that either challenge or confirm conspiratorial ideation, or that alter the psychological state of the participant (Sullivan et al., 2010; van Prooijen & Acker, 2015), allowing researchers to identify the cognitive and perceptual consequences of such ideological exposure.”
Does Perceived Lack of Control Lead to Conspiracy Theory Beliefs? Findings from an online MTurk sample
Stojanov, A., Bering, J. M., & Halberstadt, J. B. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0237771 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
“In another operationalization of conspiracy belief, Van Prooijen and Acker [32] asked par- ticipants about the construction of the North-South metro line in Amsterdam, by posing situations that were technically conspiracies, but also plausible abuses of power warranting legitimate skepticism.”
BackgroundResultInfluential
Stolen elections: How conspiracy beliefs during the 2020 American presidential elections changed over time
Wang, H., & van Prooijen, J. (2022) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3996 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Empowerment as a Tool to Reduce Belief in Conspiracy Theories
van Prooijen, J. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0030 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Conspiracy Theories and Philosophy
Dentith, M. R. X. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0006 · Cited by 35 · see citing works

Conspiracy theory beliefs: measurement and the role of perceived lack of control
Stojanov, A. (2020) · Otago University Research Archive (University of Otago)
Does lack of control lead to conspiracy beliefs? A meta‐analysis
Stojanov, A., & Halberstadt, J. (2020) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2690 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Does Perceived Lack of Control Lead to Conspiracy Theory Beliefs? Findings from an online MTurk sample
Stojanov, A., Bering, J. M., & Halberstadt, J. B. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0237771 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Sense of control and conspiracy perceptions: Generative directions on a well-worn path
Dow, B. J., Menon, T., Wang, C. S., & Whitson, J. (2022) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101389 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Perceived lack of control and conspiracy theory beliefs in the wake of political strife and natural disaster
Stojanov, A., Bering, J. M., & Halberstadt, J. B. (2021) · Psihologija · doi:10.2298/psi201115009s · Cited by 12 · see citing works

Authors: van Prooijen, J., & Acker, M.
Affiliations: Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement; and VU University Amsterdam Amsterdam the Netherlands
Otterbein University (US)
Venue: Applied Cognitive Psychology
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2015-08-10
Volume: 29
Issue: 5
Pages: 753-761
ISSN: 0888-4080 (ISSN-L)
1099-0720
DOI: 10.1002/acp.3161
OpenAlex: W1568080954
Cited by: 407
References: 53
Citations by year: 2026: 36 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 45 · 2022: 73 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 45 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 2
FWCI: 80.73
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations: Applied Cognitive Psychology (publishedVersion)
VU Research Portal (publishedVersion)
Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Keywords: conspiracy theories, conspiracy beliefs, need for control, societal threats, generalizability

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

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