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“I Know Things They Don’t Know!”: The Role of Need for Uniqueness in Belief in Conspiracy Theories
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Abstract. In the current research, we investigated whether belief in conspiracy theories satisfies people’s need for uniqueness. We found that the tendency to believe in conspiracy theories was associated with the feeling of possessing scarce information about the situations explained by the conspiracy theories (Study 1) and higher need for uniqueness (Study 2). Further two studies using two different manipulations of need for uniqueness (Studies 3 and 4) showed that people in a high need for uniqueness condition displayed higher conspiracy belief than people in a low need for uniqueness condition. This conclusion is strengthened by a small-scale meta-analysis. These studies suggest that conspiracy theories may serve people’s desire to be unique, highlighting a motivational underpinning of conspiracy belief.
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“conspiracy beliefs are higher when people want to (1) feel good about themselves and the groups they belong to [31,32,21]”
From The dark side of social movements: social identity, non-conformity, and the lure of conspiracy theories (2020) · cites this paper as [32]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the citing paper
“studies found that stronger uniqueness needs were linked to stronger conspiracy theory beliefs [31,32,36].”
From The dark side of social movements: social identity, non-conformity, and the lure of conspiracy theories (2020) · cites this paper as [32]
In the citing paper
“all conspiracy theories assert to know of secret information [32]”
From The dark side of social movements: social identity, non-conformity, and the lure of conspiracy theories (2020) · cites this paper as [32]
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“This is relevant, as endorsement of conspiracy beliefs has been associated with an increased need for uniqueness in both correlational and experimental studies (Imhoff & Lamberty, 2017; Lantian et al., 2017).”
BackgroundDouglas, K. M. (2021) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430220982068 · Cited by 404
“For instance, people are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories if they need to feel unique compared to others (Lantian et al., 2017), feel a need to belong (Graeupner & Coman, 2017), or feel that their group is underappreciated (Cichocka et al., 2016) or under threat (Jolley et al., 2018).”
BackgroundBiddlestone, M., Green, R., & Douglas, K. M. (2020) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12397 · Cited by 330
“For example, the need for uniqueness, which is argued to be a central feature of individualism (e.g., Cai et al., 2018;Wang, Fan, & Ouyang, 2017), consistently predicts conspiracy beliefs (Hart & Graether, 2018; Lantian et al., 2017).”
BackgroundDouglas, K. M., & Sutton, R. M. (2022) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-032420-031329 · Cited by 376
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“Popular explanations propose that people adopt conspiracy theories to sate underlying psychic “ needs ” or motivations, such as thedesirefor control over one ’ s environment and experiences ( 15 ), certainty and predictability ( 20 ), security and stability ( 21 ), and uniqueness ( 22 ).”
Goreis, A., & Voracek, M. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00205 · Cited by 333
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Imhoff, R., Dieterle, L., & Lamberty, P. (2021) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/1948550619896491 · Cited by 208
“As another example, scholars from France (Lantian et al., 2017) and Germany (Imhoff & Lamberty, 2017) have independently gathered support for the notion that conspiracy theories are particularly appealing to those who have a high need to see themselves as particularly unique.”
BackgroundSternisko, A., Cichocka, A., & Van Bavel, J. J. (2020) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.02.007 · Cited by 197
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“Previous research has linked conspiracy mentality with the desire to feel different from others (Imhoff & Lamberty, 2017; Lantian et al., 2017).”
BackgroundConstructing alternative facts: Populist expertise and the QAnon conspiracy
Marwick, A. E., & Partin, W. C. (2022) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/14614448221090201 · Cited by 185
“Like many conspiracy theorists, Bakers map coherent patterns onto the chaos of current events, produce damning critiques of their ideological opponents, and, by “aiding” President Trump through research, may see themselves as players on the world stage (Lantian et al., 2017; Moulding et al., 2016).”
BackgroundAnxious 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
Imhoff, R., Lamberty, P., & Klein, O. (2018) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167218768779 · Cited by 131
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The illusion of explanatory depth and endorsement of conspiracy beliefs
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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 131
“, societal crisis situations), the present studies expand on a range of recent finding suggesting that conspiracy beliefs sometimes also may have psychological benefits: Belief in conspiracy theories is associatedwith feelingunique and special (Imhoff & Lamberty, 2017; Lantian et al., 2017), an inflated evaluation of…”
BackgroundBeliefs 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
“People who tend to believe in conspiracy beliefs reported a higher need for a feeling of uniqueness (Imhoff & Lamberty, 2017; Lantian et al., 2017) and lower self-esteem (e.”
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Lantian, A., Müller, D., Nurra, C., Klein, O., Berjot, S., & Pantazi, M. (2018) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2498 · Cited by 117
The Conspiracy Mentality Scale
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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
Lantian, A., Bagneux, V., Delouvée, S., & Gauvrit, N. (2021) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3790 · Cited by 124
Are conspiracy theories harmless?
Douglas, K. M. (2021) · The Spanish Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1017/sjp.2021.10 · Cited by 92
“For example, people who want to feel unique compared to others are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories (Lantian et al., 2017), as are peoplewho feel that a social group towhich they belong is important but underappreciated by others (Cichocka et al., 2016).”
BackgroundConspiracy beliefs and the individual, relational, and collective selves
Biddlestone, M., Green, R., Cichocka, A. K., Sutton, R. M., & Douglas, K. M. (2021) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/spc3.12639 · Cited by 96
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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 85
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
“The absence of the relationship between conspiratorial beliefs and the need for uniqueness is not in line with previous research (Imhoff & Lamberty, 2017; Lantian et al., 2017), though it is noteworthy that such research corroborated”
BackgroundResultJolley, D., Douglas, K. M., Skipper, Y., Thomas, E., & Cookson, D. (2021) · British Journal of Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjdp.12368 · Cited by 58
Lyons, B. A., Mérola, V., & Reifler, J. (2018) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2018.1530526 · Cited by 72
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Psychological benefits of believing conspiracy theories
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Why do narcissists find conspiracy theories so appealing?
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Ardèvol‐Abreu, A., de Zúñiga, H. G., & Gámez, E. (2020) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12366 · Cited by 81
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Cookson, D., Jolley, D., Dempsey, R. C., & Povey, R. C. (2021) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430221993907 · Cited by 60
“…factors such as distrust in authority, higher political cynicism, lower self-esteem, need for uniqueness, and heightened stress (AbalakinaPaap et al., 1999; Imhoff & Lamberty, 2017; Lantian et al., 2017; Swami et al., 2016) have also been shown to predict belief in conspiracy theories.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialConspiracy theories and social movements studies: A research agenda
Bertuzzi, N. (2021) · Sociology Compass · doi:10.1111/soc4.12945 · Cited by 65
Biddlestone, M., Green, R., Douglas, K. M., Azevedo, F., Sutton, R. M., & Cichocka, A. K. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/rxjqc · Cited by 55
Lantian, A., Müller, D., Nurra, C., Klein, O., Berjot, S., & Pantazi, M. (2018) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/bgzt4 · Cited by 53
Kay, C. S. (2021) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2021.104128 · Cited by 58
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Detection of conspiracy propagators using psycho-linguistic characteristics
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Group-oriented motivations underlying conspiracy theories
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“Lantian et al. (2017) identified several characteristics of a person that is likely to believe in conspiracy theories including an openness to experience, low agreeability, distrust, and Machiavellianism (Grohol, 2018).”
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“What motivation would there be to adopt a conspiracy belief? One powerful motivation is the need for uniqueness which can be described as our desire to be special, different from other people (Lantian et al., 2017).”
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Durably reducing conspiracy beliefs through dialogues with AI
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The Creativity of Conspiracy Theories
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“These beliefs may even enhance people ’ s self-image by explaining their loneliness with their uniqueness (e.g., I am alone because I understand things others do not understand) 17,25 .”
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“Narcissists are convinced their unique brilliance leads them to know more than scientists in the relevant fi eld (Bertin et al., 2021; Bowes et al., 2021; Lantian et al., 2017).”
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“Believing in conspiracy theories is linked to certain personality variables (Abalakina-Paap et al., 1999; Imhoff & Bruder, 2014; Lantian et al., 2017), but situational factors also make it more likely for conspiracy theories to evolve, which include individual or collective threat (Heiss et al.”
BackgroundStall, L. M., & Petrocelli, J. V. (2022) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3998 · Cited by 22
Pummerer, L., Ditrich, L., Winter, K., & Sassenberg, K. (2022) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/19485506221144150 · Cited by 19
“First, research has repeatedly demonstrated that stronger conspiracy belief is connected to a higher need for uniqueness (Imhoff & Lamberty, 2017; Lantian et al., 2017), which undermines the influence of the majority (Imhoff & Erb, 2009).”
Conspiracy believers claim to be free thinkers but (Under)Use advice like everyone else.
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Albath, E. A., Greifeneder, R., Douglas, K. M., Cichocka, A. K., Marques, M. D., Wilson, M., Kerr, J. R., Sibley, C. G., & Osborne, D. (2024) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/01461672241292841 · Cited by 17
“…Sutton, 2023) and include psychological motivations (Douglas et al., 2017), personality characteristics (e.g., maladaptive personality facets; Stasielowicz, 2022; Swami et al., 2016), and relatively stable individual needs (e.g., need for uniqueness; Imhoff & Lamberty, 2017; Lantian et al., 2017).”
Dunning–Kruger effect and flat-earthers: An exploratory analysis
Barrigüete, J. L. A., Núñez-Mera, C. B., Fernández, J. L., & Nicolás, V. L. D. (2023) · Public Understanding of Science · doi:10.1177/09636625231166255 · Cited by 13
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“First, on a social level, when people feel that their need to maintain a positive self-image (Fairfield et al., 2015; Lantian et al., 2017) or a positive image of their ingroup (Cichocka et al., 2016) is threatened, they are more likely to adopt conspiracy beliefs.”
BackgroundPennycook, G., Binnendyk, J., & Rand, D. G. (2025) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/01461672251338358 · Cited by 17
“For example, research has found that grandiose narcissism and a need for uniqueness may play a role in conspiracy beliefs (Imhoff & Lamberty, 2017; Lantian et al., 2017).”
Stojanov, A., Bering, J. M., & Halberstadt, J. B. (2021) · Psihologija · doi:10.2298/psi201115009s · Cited by 12
“These include the need for uniqueness (Imhoff & Lamberty, 2017; Lantian et al., 2017), the need to see the world as ordered and structured (Whitson & Galinsky, 2008), and, in particular, the need for personal control (van Prooijen & Acker, 2015).”
BackgroundFactors affecting conspiracy theory endorsement in paranoia
Greenburgh, A., Liefgreen, A., Bell, V., & Raihani, N. (2022) · Royal Society Open Science · doi:10.1098/rsos.211555 · Cited by 9
Gollwitzer, A., & Oettingen, G. (2019) · Social Psychology · doi:10.1027/1864-9335/a000368 · Cited by 10
Morisseau, T., Origgi, G., & Branch, T. Y. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.708751 · Cited by 10
Conspiracy Theories and their Believers
Stockemer, D., & Bordeleau, J. (2025) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781009570794 · Cited by 10
Verschwörungsmentalität und Antisemitismus
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Religions and Conspiracy Theories as the Authoritarian “Other” of Democracy?
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“Additionally, compared to religions, the ability of conspiracy theories to build communities is rather superficial and provisional, as the need for uniqueness—the claim to know things that others do not—is higher among conspiracy theorists than among religious believers (Lantian et al., 2017).”
BackgroundPoier, S., & Suchanek, M. (2024) · Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1007/s10389-024-02210-5 · Cited by 12
“During the past few decades, studies concerning conspiracy beliefs focused mainly on attitudes to politics or authorities (Swami and Furnham 2012; Imhoff and Bruder 2014), self-esteem (Cichocka et al. 2016), social dominance orientation (Swami 2012), or the need for uniqueness (Lantian et al. 2017).”
Comprehending Covidiocy Communication
Spitzberg, B. H. (2021) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119751809.ch2 · Cited by 13
Kim, S., Tam, L., & Taylor, M. (2023) · International Journal of Strategic Communication · doi:10.1080/1553118x.2023.2235332 · Cited by 10
“Current literature on psychology has identified factors that cause individuals’ beliefs in conspiracy theories (e.g., Lantian et al., 2017; Swami et al., 2016), such as attitudes toward authority (Imhoff & Bruder, 2014), political cynicism (Swami & Furnham, 2012), anomie, distrust in authority, and…”
BackgroundThe role of personality traits and online behavior in belief in fake news
Peter, E. L., Kwantes, P. J., D’Agata, M. T., & Vallikanthan, J. (2024) · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · doi:10.1057/s41599-024-03573-6 · Cited by 7
“…susceptible to accepting conspiracy theories (Cichocka et al., 2016; Douglas and Sutton, 2011; Giancola et al., 2023; Hughes and Machan, 2021; Lantian et al., 2017; March and Springer, 2019) because of a general tendency or bias to believe information, thus making them more apt to consider…”
Toribio-Flórez, D., Altenmüller, M., Douglas, K. M., Gollwitzer, M., Adinugroho, I., Alfano, M., Apriliawati, D., Azevedo, F., Betsch, C., Białobrzeska, O., et al. (2025) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.70008 · Cited by 7
“…beliefs have been associated with psychological motives related to the defence and enhancement of the individual self (Biddlestone et al. 2021), such as narcissistic tendencies (Cichocka et al. 2016), a need for uniqueness (Lantian et al. 2017) and a need for control (van Prooijen and Acker 2015).”
Suganuma, H., Katahira, K., Ohtsuki, H., & Kameda, T. (2025) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2516827122 · Cited by 7
Teličák, P., & Haľama, P. (2021) · Studia Psychologica · doi:10.31577/sp.2021.02.820 · Cited by 11
Going beyond simplicity: Using machine learning to predict belief in conspiracy theories
Brandenstein, N. (2022) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2859 · Cited by 9
`I-know-it-when-I-see-it' - Motivating Examples in the Psychology of Conspiracy Theory Theory
Dentith, M. R. X. (2024) · Routledge Open Research · doi:10.12688/routledgeopenres.17931.2 · Cited by 7
Lateral Attitude Change: Stalking the Elusive Displacement Effect
Linne, R., Glaser, T., Pum, K., & Bohner, G. (2020) · Social Cognition · doi:10.1521/soco.2020.38.4.324 · Cited by 7
The culture of flat earth and its consequences
Erlaine, D. M. (2020) · Journal of Science & Popular Culture · doi:10.1386/jspc_00019_1 · Cited by 7
Craig, K., & Sadovykh, V. (2022) · Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) · doi:10.24251/hicss.2022.726 · Cited by 7
Conspiracy beliefs and majority influence
Pummerer, L., Fock, L., Winter, K., & Sassenberg, K. (2024) · Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/00224545.2024.2397491 · Cited by 6
“Second , conspiracy beliefs are related to a higher need for uniqueness (Imhoff & Lamberty, 2017; Lantian et al., 2017).”
How Belief in Conspiracy Theories Addresses Some Basic Human Needs
Wheeler, E. A. (2020) · Identity in a changing world · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-38270-4_11 · Cited by 6
Online Discourse and Social Media
Nilan, P. (2021) · Alternatives and futures · doi:10.1007/978-981-16-1811-6_2 · Cited by 5
Ük, B., & Bahçekapılı, H. G. (2022) · Discover Psychology · doi:10.1007/s44202-022-00047-1 · Cited by 9
“As shown in the literature, people who need to be different believe in conspiracy theories and define themselves as ‘seeing and knowing ulterior motives that others do not see’ and feel special [27].”
BackgroundConspiracy Theories in the US: Who Believes in Them?
Stockemer, D. (2023) · The Forum · doi:10.1515/for-2023-2022 · Cited by 4
Gordon, D. S., & Birney, M. E. (2025) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/josi.12662 · Cited by 5
de Melo, L. W. S., Passos, M. M., & Salvi, R. F. (2020) · Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa em Educação em Ciências · doi:10.28976/1984-2686rbpec2020u275294 · Cited by 5
“…a isso, a questão que propomos discutir está mais alinhada ao entendimento da complexidade cultural e discursiva da crença em conspirações, que pode estar associada a diversos fatores, entre eles, questões motivacionais e de necessidade de exclusividade, remarcadas por Lantian et al. (2017).”
BackgroundConspiracy Theories About the Pandemic of COVID-19 and Their Function on the Greek Internet
Κακάμπουρα, Ρ., & Nounanaki, A.-L. (2022) · Advances in human and social aspects of technology book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-6684-4461-0.ch004 · Cited by 5
Metadata
- Authors
- Lantian, A., Muller, D., Nurra, C., & Douglas, K. M.
- Affiliations
- Université Paris Nanterre (FR)
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
- Université Grenoble Alpes (FR)
- University of Kent (GB)
- Venue
- Social Psychology
- Publisher
- Hogrefe Publishing Group
- Published
- 2017-07
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 160-173
- ISSN
- 1864-9335 (ISSN-L)
- 2151-2590
- OpenAlex
- W2735482984
- Cited by
- 176
- References
- 96
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 10
- FWCI
- 24.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent) (submittedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
- Keywords
- conspiracy theories, need for uniqueness, conspiracy beliefs
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