The DOI matches its Crossref record; 60 of the 60 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Blaming a few bad apples to save a threatened barrel: the system-justifying function of conspiracy theories
Open accessAbstract
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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The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions
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Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Jost J. T., 2001, Cognitive social psychology: The Princeton symposium on the legacy and future of social cognition, 89
- Prooijen J.‐W., 2012, Justice and conflicts: Theoretical and empirical contribution, 121
- Quinby L., 1999, Millennial civilization and its discontents: Terminal cynicism, conspiracy mania, and avatarism, Psychohistory Review, 27, 33
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Understanding Conspiracy Theories
Douglas, K. M., Uscinski, J. E., Sutton, R. M., Cichocka, A., Nefes, T., Ang, C. S., & Deravi, F. (2019) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12568 · Cited by 1,511
The 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
“In one such design, Jolley, Douglas, and Sutton (2017) exposed people to threats to the legitimacy of their social system.”
BackgroundJost, J. T. (2019) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12297 · Cited by 567
“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.”
BackgroundInfluentialDouglas, 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).”
BackgroundBelief in conspiracy theories: Basic principles of an emerging research domain
van Prooijen, J., & Douglas, K. M. (2018) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2530 · Cited by 483
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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