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Blaming a few bad apples to save a threatened barrel: the system-justifying function of conspiracy theories
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This research demonstrates that conspiracy theories—often represented as subversive alternatives to establishment narratives—may bolster, rather than undermine, support for the social status quo when its legitimacy is under threat. A pilot study (N = 98) found a positive relationship between conspiracy belief and satisfaction with the status quo. In Study 1 (N = 120), threatening (vs. affirming) the status quo in British society caused participants to endorse conspiracy theories. In Study 2 (N = 159), exposure to conspiracy theories increased satisfaction with the British social system after this had been experimentally threatened. In Study 3 (N = 109), this effect was mediated by the tendency for participants exposed (vs. not exposed) to conspiracy theories to attribute societal problems relatively more strongly to small groups of people rather than systemic causes. By blaming tragedies, disasters, and social problems on the actions of a malign few, conspiracy theories can divert attention from the inherent limitations of social systems.
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“Republicans are more likely than Democrats to endorse Qanon -the far-right theory that a Deep State is conspiring against President Trump [53].”
From The dark side of social movements: social identity, non-conformity, and the lure of conspiracy theories (2020) · cites this paper as [53]
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Understanding Conspiracy Theories
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“This finding is important because it speaks to a major difference between just world and system justification theories (Jost & van der Toorn, 2012). Whereas Lerner (1980) argued that genuine concerns for justice (inspired by the ‘justice motive’) should be positively associated with the belief in a just Figure 8.”
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“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).”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Jolley, D., Douglas, K. M., & Sutton, R. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Staffordshire (GB)
- University of Kent (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Jolley, Daniel
- Douglas, Karen M.
- Sutton, Robbie M.
- Venue
- Political Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2017-02-18
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 465-478
- ISSN
- 0162-895X (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9221
- OpenAlex
- W2589123060
- Cited by
- 170
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 42 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 44.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- Locations
- Political Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Staffordshire Online Repository (Staffordshire University) (acceptedVersion)
- Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent) (acceptedVersion)
- Repository@Nottingham (University of Nottingham) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- Repository@Nottingham (University of Nottingham) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Northumbria Research Link (Northumbria University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
- Keywords
- conspiracy theories, system justification, status quo, social legitimacy, blame attribution, British society
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