Cited by 414Misinformation and Its ImpactsParanormal Experiences and BeliefsSocial and Intergroup Psychology

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Someone is pulling the strings: hypersensitive agency detection and belief in conspiracy theories

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Douglas, Karen M., Sutton, Robbie M., Callan, Mitchell J., Dawtry, Rael J., Harvey, Annelie J.·2016·Thinking & Reasoning

DOI 10.1080/13546783.2015.1051586

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Abstract

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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Background
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Background
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Background
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Background
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BackgroundInfluential
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How do beliefs in free will and determinism correlate with beliefs in conspiracy, paranormal, and pseudoscience beliefs?
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“Anthony Lantian, Dominique Muller, Cécile Nurra, and Karen M. Douglas (2016) have developed a single-item measurement of conspiracy mentality, correlated with lengthier scales of conspiracy belief and producing good validity and reliability, which I intended to adopt.”
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“The first result, i.e., a negative correlation between years of education and level of conspiratorial thinking, appears to be consistent with previous research by Douglas et al. ( 2016 ), who found that lower levels of education were associated with higher conspiratorial beliefs.”
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How experience shapes extraordinary beliefs
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“Findings before and during the pandemic indicated consistently that younger age is associated with higher, and older age with lower, conspiracy beliefs (De Coninck et al., 2021; Douglas et al., 2016; Duplaga, 2020; earnshaw et al., 2020; Galliford & Furnham, 2017; Green & Douglas, 2018; Kuhn et al., 2021).”
Background
Vaccine-related conspiracy and counter-conspiracy narratives. Silencing effects
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Conspiracy Theories
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Is Education the Best Tool to Fight Disinformation?
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“In human and social sciences, education is a key factor in recognising fake news (Craft et al., 2017; Douglas et al., 2016; Flynn et al., 2017; Kahne & Bowyer, 2017; Leeder, 2019; Pop & Ene, 2019; Reuter et al., 2019; Tandoc et al., 2018).”
Examining the adverse impact of social media: development of a theoretical model using conspiracy theory from socio-legal perspective
Chatterjee, S., Vrontis, D., Hussain, Z., Basile, G., & Bianco, R. (2024) · International Journal of Law and Management · doi:10.1108/ijlma-02-2024-0045 · Cited by 2

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.
ORCID: Douglas, Karen M.
Sutton, Robbie M.
Callan, Mitchell J.
Dawtry, Rael J.
Harvey, Annelie J.
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
DOI: 10.1080/13546783.2015.1051586
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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Someone is pulling the strings: hypersensitive agency detection and belief in conspiracy theories

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