Someone is pulling the strings: hypersensitive agency detection and belief in conspiracy theories
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We hypothesised that belief in conspiracy theories would be predicted by the general tendency to attribute agency and intentionality where it is unlikely to exist. We further hypothesised that this tendency would explain the relationship between education level and belief in conspiracy theories, where lower levels of education have been found to be associated with higher conspiracy belief. In Study 1 (N = 202) participants were more likely to agree with a range of conspiracy theories if they also tended to attribute intentionality and agency to inanimate objects. As predicted, this relationship accounted for the link between education level and belief in conspiracy theories. We replicated this finding in Study 2 (N = 330), whilst taking into account beliefs in paranormal phenomena. These results suggest that education may undermine the reasoning processes and assumptions that are reflected in conspiracy belief.
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Conspiracy belief is correlated with lower levels of education.
“and lower levels of education (Douglas, Sutton, Callan, Dawtry, & Harvey, 2016).”
From The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories (2017) · cites this paper as Douglas, Sutton, Callan, Dawtry, & Harvey, 2016
Conspiracy beliefs are higher when people want to make sense of their environment.
“(2) make sense of their environment [33][34][35]”
From The dark side of social movements: social identity, non-conformity, and the lure of conspiracy theories (2020) · cites this paper as [33]
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“Other studies using this measure have likewise computed total scores and have reported higher internal consistency coefficients [11] [12] [13] , but have neglected to examine the scale's factor structure.”
BackgroundResultBelief in conspiracy theories and intentions to engage in everyday crime
Jolley, D., Douglas, K. M., Leite, A. C., & Schrader, T. (2019) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12311 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
Self-citationOleksy, T., Wnuk, A., Maison, D. A., & Łyś, A. E. (2020) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110289 · Cited by 200 · see citing works
Climate Change Conspiracy Theories
Uscinski, J. E., Douglas, K. M., & Lewandowsky, S. (2016) · Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science · doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.328 · Cited by 187 · see citing works
Self-citationKofta, M., Soral, W., & Bilewicz, M. (2020) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspa0000183 · Cited by 182 · see citing works
Understanding Fake News Consumption: A Review
Baptista, J. P., & Gradim, A. (2020) · Social Sciences · doi:10.3390/socsci9100185 · Cited by 202 · see citing works
“I Know Things They Don’t Know!”: The Role of Need for Uniqueness in Belief in Conspiracy Theories
Lantian, A., Muller, D., Nurra, C., & Douglas, K. M. (2017) · Social Psychology · doi:10.1027/1864-9335/a000306 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Mistrust and misinformation: A two-component, socio-epistemic model of belief in conspiracy theories
Pierre, J. M. (2020) · Journal of Social and Political Psychology · doi:10.5964/jspp.v8i2.1362 · Cited by 182 · see citing works
Sternisko, A., Cichocka, A. K., Cisłak, A., & Bavel, J. J. V. (2021) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/01461672211054947 · Cited by 189 · see citing works
Beyond “Monologicality”? Exploring Conspiracist Worldviews
Franks, B., Bangerter, A., Bauer, M. W., Hall, M., & Noort, M. C. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00861 · Cited by 166 · see citing works
“…claim (rejection of official explanations, as in many past findings), and the other is a positive claim (Type 5 imputing of supernatural agents with exceptional agency, or Type 4 imputing of exceptional control or power to the conspiratorial group (Franks et al., 2013; Douglas et al., 2016).”
BackgroundInfluentialIndividual difference factors and beliefs in medical and political conspiracy theories
Galliford, N., & Furnham, A. F. (2017) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.12382 · Cited by 163 · see citing works
Why conspiracy theories matter: A social psychological analysis
Douglas, K. M., & Sutton, R. M. (2018) · European Review of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/10463283.2018.1537428 · Cited by 114 · see citing works
“…this relationship and also showed that anxious attachment predicted belief in well-known conspiracy theories (as measured by Douglas & Sutton, 2011; Douglas et al., 2016) and conspiracy theories about groups (i.e., the idea that specific groups such as bankers and politicians conspire against…”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialSelf-citationCentre for Educational Research and Innovation, & OECD (2009) · Education at a glance. OECD indicators/Education at a glance · doi:10.1787/19991487 · Cited by 161 · see citing works
Rutjens, B. T., Heine, S. J., Sutton, R. M., & van Harreveld, F. (2017) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/bs.aesp.2017.08.001 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
“In our own work (Douglas, Sutton, Callan, Dawtry, & Harvey, 2016), we showed that conspiracy thinking is associated with magical thinking (belief in causation by physically impossible means) and the perception that weather systems (Waytz, Cacioppo, & Epley, 2010) and moving geometrical shapes…”
Self-citationThe dark side of meaning-making: How social exclusion leads to superstitious thinking
Graeupner, D., & Coman, A. (2017) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2016.10.003 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
Xiao, X., Borah, P., & Su, Y. (2021) · Public Understanding of Science · doi:10.1177/0963662521998025 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
“…importantly, scholars indicated that improving critical consumption of news is imperative since the ability to discern misinformation and disinformation could mitigate the negative influences of conspiracy theories on society (e.g. Douglas et al., 2016; Jones-Jang et al., 2019; Vraga et al., 2020).”
BackgroundSuspicion in the workplace: Organizational conspiracy theories and work‐related outcomes
Douglas, K. M., & Leite, A. C. (2017) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjop.12212 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Self-citationAnxious 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
Self-citationRizeq, J., Flora, D., & Toplak, M. E. (2020) · Thinking and Reasoning · doi:10.1080/13546783.2020.1759688 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
van Prooijen, J. (2016) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2157 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Nera, K., Wagner-Egger, P., Bertin, P., Douglas, K. M., & Klein, O. (2021) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2769 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
“…Goertzel, 1994; Uscinski & Parent, 2014; van Prooijen, 2016; van Prooijen, Staman, & Krouwel, 2018), people experiencing economic insecurity (Freeman & Bentall, 2017), or people with lower educational attainment (Douglas et al., 2016; Goertzel, 1994; Uscinski & Parent, 2014; van Prooijen, 2016).”
Self-citationLantian, 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 · see citing works
Conspiracy Thinking in Europe and America: A Comparative Study
Walter, A., & Drochon, H. (2020) · Political Studies · doi:10.1177/0032321720972616 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
“…Furnham, 2017; Goertzel, 1994; Stempel et al., 2007) and/or poorly educated are more likely to engage in conspiracy thinking (Bogart and Bird, 2003; Douglas et al., 2016; Freeman and Bentall, 2017; Galliford and Furnham, 2017; Hollander, 2018; Mancosu et al., 2017; Oliver and Wood, 2014; Uscinski…”
BackgroundIndividual, 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
Self-citationAnti-Vaccination Beliefs and Unrelated Conspiracy Theories
Goldberg, Z. J., & Richey, S. (2020) · World Affairs · doi:10.1177/0043820020920554 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
“Moreover, as these heuristics are similarly at work in the holding of other anomalous beliefs, research has unsurprisingly uncovered a link between conspiracy beliefs and paranormal, superstitious, and pseudoscientific beliefs (Bruder et al. 2013; douglas et al. 2015; drinkwater, dagnall, and parker 2012; swami et al.…”
BackgroundNapolitano, M. G., & Reuter, K. (2021) · Erkenntnis · doi:10.1007/s10670-021-00441-6 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Hart, J., & Graether, M. (2018) · Journal of Individual Differences · doi:10.1027/1614-0001/a000268 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
“For example, people who are prone to detecting agency – intention – behind events and actions should be more likely to entertain the possibility of conspiracy, and research supports this hypothesis (Douglas, Sutton, Callan, Dawtry, & Harvey, 2016; van der Tempel & Alcock, 2015).”
Su, Y., Lee, D. K. L., & Xiao, X. (2021) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2021.107111 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
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
Handbook of Conspiracy Theory and Contemporary Religion
Wood, M. J., & Douglas, K. (2018) · BRILL eBooks · doi:10.1163/9789004382022 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Self-citationCordonier, L., Cafiero, F., & Bronner, G. (2021) · Social Science Information · doi:10.1177/05390184211018961 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
“4) Income, inequality, and education: Low levels of economic inequality and high levels of income and education appear to protect against conspiratorial beliefs (Douglas et al., 2016; Drochon, 2018; Mancosu et al., 2017; Van Prooijen, 2017).”
Unpacking the relationship between religiosity and conspiracy beliefs in Australia
Jasinskaja‐Lahti, I., & Jetten, J. (2019) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12314 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Sutton, R. M., & Douglas, K. M. (2020) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291720002780 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
“For example, our study was run in late June 2020 and Freeman et al. ’ s study was run in early May; ours used a relatively educated sample, among whom slightly lower agreement with conspiracy theories can be expected (Douglas, Sutton, Callan, Dawtry, & Harvey, 2016).”
Self-citationStoica, C., & Umbreș, R. (2020) · European Societies: The Official Journal of the European Sociological Association · doi:10.1080/14616696.2020.1823450 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Meuer, M., & Imhoff, R. (2020) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2020.104081 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
van der Wal, R. C., Sutton, R. M., Lange, J., & Braga, J. N. (2018) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2507 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Self-citationAntecedents and consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: a systematic reviewPreprint
van Mulukom, V., Pummerer, L., Alper, S., Bai, H., Čavojová, V., Farias, J. E. M., Kay, C. S., Lazarević, L. B., Lobato, E. J. C., Marinthe, G., et al. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/u8yah · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Larsen, E. M., Donaldson, K. R., Liew, M., & Mohanty, A. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/mb65f · Cited by 71 · see citing works
“The effect of delusion-proneness is also consistent with work showing that CT relates to a tendency to perceive non-existent agency and intentionality (56, 57), an effect that is stronger in individuals with schizotypal traits (57).”
ResultThere 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
Perceptual Biases in Relation to Paranormal and Conspiracy Beliefs
van Elk, M. (2015) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0130422 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
“In contrast, conspiracy beliefs are characterized by attributing intentionality and agency to inanimate objects [26,43] and a tendency to connect apparently unrelated events [28].”
Mao, J., Yang, S., & Guo, Y. (2020) · Asian Journal Of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/ajsp.12417 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
“Some studies have supported the idea that individuals’ belief in conspiracy theories increases in circumstances wherein they lack personal control (van Prooijen & Acker, 2015; Whitson & Galinsky, 2008; Whitson, Kim, Wang, Menon, & Webster, 2019). van Prooijen and Acker (2015) conducted two well-designed studies with e…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialTonković, M., Dumančić, F., Jelić, M., & Biruški, D. Č. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643568 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
“001) in line with a previously obtained positive relationship of conservatism and right-wing ideology with an endorsement of pandemic unrelated conspiracies (Swami, 2012; Pasek et al., 2015; Douglas et al., 2016) and pandemic related conspiracies (Alper et al.”
ResultCookson, D., Jolley, D., Dempsey, R. C., & Povey, R. C. (2021) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430221993907 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
“These scales have been used previously in conspiracy theory research and have shown good reliability (Douglas et al., 2016; Jolley & Douglas, 2014a, 2017).”
MethodConspiracy 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
Juanchich, M., Sirota, M., Jolles, D., & Whiley, L. A. (2020) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2796 · Cited by 52 · 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
BERT Model for Fake News Detection Based on Social Bot Activities in the COVID-19 Pandemic
Heidari, M., Zad, S., Hajibabaee, P., Malekzadeh, M., HekmatiAthar, S., Uzuner, Ö., & Jones, J. H. (2021) · IEEE Annual Ubiquitous Computing, Electronics & Mobile Communication Conference (UEMCON) · doi:10.1109/uemcon53757.2021.9666618 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
“people [10], [11] most people tend to believe them in cases of natural disasters, financial crises, wars, and attacks [12], [13].”
BackgroundWho 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
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 · see citing works
Self-citationLantian, A., Müller, D., Nurra, C., Klein, O., Berjot, S., & Pantazi, M. (2018) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/bgzt4 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Frenken, M., Bilewicz, M., & Imhoff, R. (2022) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12822 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
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
Moral foundations, worldviews, moral absolutism and belief in conspiracy theories
Leone, L., Giacomantonio, M., & Lauriola, M. (2017) · International Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1002/ijop.12459 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Expertise and Conspiracy Theories
Dentith, M. R. X. (2018) · Social Epistemology · doi:10.1080/02691728.2018.1440021 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
“This finding has been reported by Dieguez, WagnerEgger, et al. (2015), Swami et al. (2014), Douglas et al. (2016), Gebauer et al. (2016), Freeman and Bentall (2017) and Franks, Bangerter, Bauer, et al. (2017).”
BackgroundResultThe generality of belief in unsubstantiated claims
Bensley, D. A., Lilienfeld, S., Rowan, K., Masciocchi, C., & Grain, F. (2019) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3581 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
“These results replicate positive correlations between conspiracy theory measures and measures of paranormal belief (Darwin, Neave, & Holmes, 2011; Douglas et al., 2016; Drinkwater, Dagnall, & Parker, 2012; Stähl & van Prooijen, 2018), between conspiracy theory endorsement and belief in superstition (Steiger et al.”
BackgroundResultPisl, V., Volavka, J., Chvojková, E., Cechová, K., Kavalirova, G., & Vevera, J. (2021) · European psychiatry · doi:10.3390/ijerph18105065 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
“Its effect might be even larger in the general population than in our student sample, given that the effect of paranormal thinking on belief in conspiracy theories is reduced by education [34].”
BackgroundThe 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
“Besides, several cognitive and social psychologists have looked into the cognitive dimensions of CTs, investigating how styles of thinking, reasoning errors, and cognitive biases are related to conspiracy beliefs (e.g., Brotherton & French, 2015; Douglas et al., 2016).”
Sternisko, A., Cichocka, A. K., Cisłak, A., & Bavel, J. J. V. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/4c6av · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Conspiracy theories and reasonable pluralism
Cíbik, M., & Hardoš, P. (2020) · European Journal of Political Theory · doi:10.1177/1474885119899232 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
“…causes of problematic conspiratorial thinking include the fundamental attribution error (Clarke, 2002), susceptibility to the conjunction fallacy (Brotherton and French, 2014), anthropomorphism, intentionality seeking and other cognitive biases (Brotherton and French, 2015; Douglas et al., 2016).”
BackgroundAustralasian 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
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
“Hyperactive agency detection indeed is associated with conspiracy beliefs: Detecting agency in the classic Heider and Simmel footage predicts increased belief in conspiracy theories (Douglas et al., 2016).”
BackgroundThe 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
Košárková, A., Maliňáková, K., van Dijk, J. P., & Tavel, P. (2021) · Vaccines · doi:10.3390/vaccines9101157 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
“Moreover, social identity and the way people perceive the world around them can be associated with beliefs in conspiracy theories, particularly when events are unclear or uncertain [32,33].”
BackgroundButuroiu, R., Udrea, G., Oprea, D.-A., & Corbu, N. (2021) · Societies · doi:10.3390/soc11040138 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
“Education is consistently reported as an important socio-demographic predictor in the case of conspiracy beliefs [80,81] and of vaccine and vaccination-related conspiracy beliefs in particular [82,83].”
BackgroundStojanov, A., Bering, J. M., & Halberstadt, J. B. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0237771 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Ferreira, S., Campos, C., Marinho, B., Rocha, S., Fonseca‐Pedrero, E., & Rocha, N. (2021) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114611 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
“Individuals who are less educated tend to attribute agency and intentionality where it does not exist (Douglas et al., 2016; Ståhl and van Prooijen, 2018; van Prooijen, 2018).”
Searching for the cognitive basis of anti-vaccination attitudes
Lindeman, M., Svedholm‐Häkkinen, A. M., & Riekki, T. J. J. (2022) · Thinking & Reasoning · doi:10.1080/13546783.2022.2046158 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Jabkowski, P., Domaradzki, J., & Baranowski, M. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-44752-w · Cited by 37 · see citing works
“Our analysis corresponds to the findings of previous research conducted at the individual level 23 , as we found that the level of education plays an essential role in shaping people’s belief in COVID-19-related CTs in Europe.”
ResultEmpowerment 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
Making an impression: The effects of sharing conspiracy theories
Green, R., Toribio-Flórez, D., Douglas, K. M., Brunkow, J. W., & Sutton, R. M. (2023) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104398 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Self-citationDiFonzo, N. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0017 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
The complex relationship between conspiracy belief and the politics of social change
Federico, C. M. (2022) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101354 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Factors associated with the myth about 5G network during COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa
Ovenseri-Ogbomo, G. O., Ishaya, T., Osuagwu, U. L., Abu, E. K., Nwaeze, O., Oloruntoba, R., Ekpenyong, B. N., Mashige, K. P., Timothy, C. G., Langsi, R., et al. (2020) · Journal of Global Health Reports · doi:10.29392/001c.17606 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Conspiratorial Thinking and Dueling Fact Perceptions
Marietta, M., & Barker, D. C. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0014 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Is the label ‘conspiracy theory’ a cause or a consequence of disbelief in alternative narratives?
Douglas, K. M., van Prooijen, J., & Sutton, R. M. (2021) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjop.12548 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Self-citationDon't trust anybody: Conspiracy mentality and the detection of facial trustworthiness cues
Frenken, M., & Imhoff, R. (2022) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3955 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Sallam, M., Eid, H., Awamleh, N., Al‐Tammemi, A. B., Barakat, M. M., Athamneh, R. Y., Hallit, S. R., Harapan, H., & Mahafzah, A. M. (2022) · Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease · doi:10.3390/tropicalmed7120411 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“In spite of this, the current study did not reveal any statistically significant difference in the prevalence of specific conspiracy ideas based on level of education [92,93].”
ResultRäikkä, J., & Basham, L. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0011 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Psychometric assessments of Persian translations of three measures of conspiracist beliefs
Atari, M., Afhami, R., & Swami, V. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0215202 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“Specifically, conspiracy beliefs are correlated with lower levels of analytic thinking [8, 10] and lower levels of education [13] [14] .”
BackgroundDentith, M. R. X. (2020) · Synthese · doi:10.1007/s11229-020-02694-0 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
- Authors
- Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., Callan, M. J., Dawtry, R. J., & Harvey, A. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Kent (GB)
- University of Essex (GB)
- Anglia Ruskin University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Douglas, Karen M.
- Venue
- Thinking & Reasoning
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2015-08-18
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 57-77
- ISSN
- 1354-6783 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-0708
- OpenAlex
- W2282522361
- Cited by
- 414
- References
- 84
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 47 · 2024: 52 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 70 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 52 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 4
- FWCI
- 84.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Licence
- public-domain
- Locations
- Thinking & Reasoning (publishedVersion)
- Anglia Ruskin Research Online (Anglia Ruskin University) (acceptedVersion)
- Open Access at Essex (University of Essex) (acceptedVersion)
- Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
- The University of Bath Online Publications Store (The University of Bath) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Pure (University of Bath) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- 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 beliefs, agency detection, intention attribution, educational attainment, supernatural beliefs, inanimate objects
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