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Someone is pulling the strings: hypersensitive agency detection and belief in conspiracy theories
Open accessAbstract
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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“(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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“and the tendency to perceive agency and intentionality where it does not exist (Douglas et al., 2016).”
From The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories (2017) · cites this paper as Douglas et al., 2016
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“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
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“Douglas et al. (2016) demonstrated that the relationship was explained in part by the tendency for people with lower levels of education to also be more likely to attribute agency and intentionality where it does not, or is unlikely, to exist. Van Prooijen (2017) found support for two additional mediating factors—grea…”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationThe Psychology of Conspiracy Theories
Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., & Cichocka, A. (2017) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0963721417718261 · Cited by 1,316
“It is also associated with the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of co-occurring events (Brotherton & French, 2014) and the tendency to perceive agency and intentionality where it does not exist (Douglas et al., 2016).”
BackgroundSelf-citationCoronavirus conspiracy beliefs, mistrust, and compliance with government guidelines in England
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Why Education Predicts Decreased Belief in Conspiracy Theories
van Prooijen, J. (2016) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3301 · Cited by 577
“Previous research indicated a negative relationship between education level and belief in conspiracy theories, such that people with high education levels are less likely to believe in conspiracy theories than people with low education levels (Douglas et al., 2016; Van Prooijen et al, 2015).”
BackgroundPrevention is better than cure: addressing anti-vaccine conspiracy theories
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Self-citationDouglas, K. M. (2021) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430220982068 · Cited by 404
“For example, research has linked conspiracy beliefs with the search for patterns and meaning even when no such patterns exist (van Prooijen et al., 2018), and with lower levels of education (Douglas et al., 2016).”
BackgroundSelf-citationBelief in conspiracy theories: Basic principles of an emerging research domain
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Self-citationvan Prooijen, J., Douglas, K. M., & De Inocencio, C. (2018) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2331 · Cited by 355
“This is consistent with the observation that people with high education levels, or with strong analytic thinking skills, are less susceptible to irrational beliefs than people with low education levels or weak analytic thinking skills (Aarnio & Lindeman, 2005; Douglas et al., 2016; Gervais & Norenzayan, 2012; Musch &…”
BackgroundResultSelf-citationCichocka, A. K., Marchlewska, M., & de Zavala, A. G. (2015) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/1948550615616170 · Cited by 390
Conspiracy mentality and political orientation across 26 countries
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Self-citationAntecedents and consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: A systematic review
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. (2022) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114912 · Cited by 437
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Conspiracy Theories: Evolved Functions and Psychological Mechanisms
van Prooijen, J.-W., & van Vugt, M. (2018) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691618774270 · Cited by 414
“There is indeed no clear evidence for a gender effect in conspiracy theories: In most studies that test for the effects of gender, men and women are about equally likely to believe conspiracy theories (e.g., Darwin et al., 2011; Douglas et al., 2016; Jolley & Douglas, 2014b; van Prooijen & Acker, 2015; van Prooijen et…”
BackgroundDouglas, K. M., & Sutton, R. M. (2022) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-032420-031329 · Cited by 376
Self-citationConspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them
(2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.001.0001 · Cited by 294
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An Existential Threat Model of Conspiracy Theories
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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
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Climate Change Conspiracy Theories
Uscinski, J. E., Douglas, K. M., & Lewandowsky, S. (2016) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.328 · Cited by 205
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Understanding Fake News Consumption: A Review
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Mistrust and misinformation: A two-component, socio-epistemic model of belief in conspiracy theories
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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
“…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
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“…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…”
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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 163
“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
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“…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
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
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“…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
Conspiracy Thinking in Europe and America: A Comparative Study
Walter, A., & Drochon, H. (2020) · Political Studies · doi:10.1177/0032321720972616 · Cited by 81
“…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
Self-citationAnti-Vaccination Beliefs and Unrelated Conspiracy Theories
Goldberg, Z. J., & Richey, S. (2020) · World Affairs · doi:10.1177/0043820020920554 · Cited by 59
“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.…”
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“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 84
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
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“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 80
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“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. A., & Umbreș, R. (2020) · European Societies · doi:10.1080/14616696.2020.1823450 · Cited by 82
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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
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“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
Perceptual Biases in Relation to Paranormal and Conspiracy Beliefs
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“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].”
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“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 88
“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
“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
Juanchich, M., Sirota, M., Jolles, D., & Whiley, L. A. (2021) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2796 · Cited by 70
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 72
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 58
“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 62
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
Self-citationLantian, A., Müller, D., Nurra, C., Klein, O., Berjot, S., & Pantazi, M. (2018) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/bgzt4 · Cited by 53
Frenken, M., Bilewicz, M., & Imhoff, R. (2022) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12822 · Cited by 66
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
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 59
Expertise and Conspiracy Theories
Dentith, M. R. X. (2018) · Social Epistemology · doi:10.1080/02691728.2018.1440021 · Cited by 48
“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
“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
“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) · Journal of Economic Surveys · doi:10.1111/joes.12604 · Cited by 57
“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
Conspiracy theories and reasonable pluralism
Cíbik, M., & Hardoš, P. (2020) · European Journal of Political Theory · doi:10.1177/1474885119899232 · Cited by 42
“…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 51
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 48
“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 47
Košárková, A., Maliňáková, K., van Dijk, J. P., & Tavel, P. (2021) · Vaccines · doi:10.3390/vaccines9101157 · Cited by 40
“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
“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 42
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 44
“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 39
Jabkowski, P., Domaradzki, J., & Baranowski, M. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-44752-w · Cited by 37
“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
Conspiracy Theories and Philosophy
Dentith, M. R. X. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0006 · Cited by 38
Making an impression: The effects of sharing conspiracy theories
Green, R., Toribio‐Flórez, D., Douglas, K. M., Brunkow, J. W., & Sutton, R. M. (2022) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104398 · Cited by 40
Self-citationDiFonzo, N. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0017 · Cited by 34
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
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 31
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
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
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
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
“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 32
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 32
“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 34
Metadata
- 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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