Dead and Alive: Beliefs in Contradictory Conspiracy Theories
Abstract
Conspiracy theories can form a monological belief system: A self-sustaining worldview comprised of a network of mutually supportive beliefs. The present research shows that even mutually incompatible conspiracy theories are positively correlated in endorsement. In Study 1 ( n = 137), the more participants believed that Princess Diana faked her own death, the more they believed that she was murdered. In Study 2 ( n = 102), the more participants believed that Osama Bin Laden was already dead when U.S. special forces raided his compound in Pakistan, the more they believed he is still alive. Hierarchical regression models showed that mutually incompatible conspiracy theories are positively associated because both are associated with the view that the authorities are engaged in a cover-up (Study 2). The monological nature of conspiracy belief appears to be driven not by conspiracy theories directly supporting one another but by broader beliefs supporting conspiracy theories in general.
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Participants who believed in one conspiracy theory were also more likely to believe in others, even when they were contradictory.
“This is consistent with findings that participants who believed in one conspiracy theory were also more likely to believe in others, even when they were contradictory [42,43].”
From The dark side of social movements: social identity, non-conformity, and the lure of conspiracy theories (2020) · cites this paper as [42]
Simultaneous belief in mutually contradictory theories is a notable aspect of conspiracist ideation.
“the simultaneous belief in mutually contradictory theories—e.g., that Princess Diana was murdered but faked her own death—is a notable aspect of conspiracist ideation [30]”
From The Role of Conspiracist Ideation and Worldviews in Predicting Rejection of Science (2013) · cites this paper as [30]
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“However, Wood et al. (2012) demonstrate that people are quite willing to believe contradictory CTs (for example, that Osama Bin Laden is still alive and that he was already dead when the U.S. raid took place), and also that a belief system of even incompatible CTs is “held together” by the…”
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“In this sense, our research is also in line with previous empirical work on conspiratorial thinking showing that people can endorse mutually incompatible conspiracy theories (Wood et al., 2012).”
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“Researchers consistently find that endorsing one conspiracy theory is strongly predictive of endorsing many others (e.g., Swami et al., 2010, 2011), even when those conspiracy theories are mutually exclusive (Wood et al., 2012).”
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“This effect emerged for both short- and long-term distances, and indicates that conspiracy beliefs are part of a selfreinforcing cycle that results in more and more extreme attitudes (Goertzel, 1994; Swami et al., 2010; Wood et al., 2012).”
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Self-citationMari, S., de Zúñiga, H. G., Suerdem, A. K., Hanke, K., Brown, G. P., Vilar, R., Boer, D., & Bilewicz, M. (2021) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12754 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Moulding, R., Nix-Carnell, S., Schnabel, A., Nedeljkovic, M., Burnside, E. E., Lentini, A., & Mehzabin, N. (2016) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2016.04.060 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Lewandowsky, S., Cook, J., & Lloyd, E. (2018) · Synthese · doi:10.1007/s11229-016-1198-6 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
van Prooijen, J., & van Dijk, E. (2014) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2014.06.006 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Rumor Has It: The Adoption of Unverified Information in Conflict Zones
Greenhill, K. M., & Oppenheim, B. (2017) · International Studies Quarterly · doi:10.1093/isq/sqx015 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Propagating and Debunking Conspiracy Theories on Twitter During the 2015–2016 Zika Virus Outbreak
Wood, M. J. (2018) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2017.0669 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Self-citationExamining the monological nature of conspiracy theories
Sutton, R. M., & Douglas, K. M. (2014) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139565417.018 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Self-citationXiao, X., Borah, P., & Su, Y. (2021) · Public Understanding of Science · doi:10.1177/0963662521998025 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Bored to fears: Boredom proneness, paranoia, and conspiracy theories
Brotherton, R., & Eser, S. (2015) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.02.011 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Psychological Correlates of Populist Attitudes
Erişen, C., Guidi, M., Martini, S., Toprakkiran, S., Isernia, P., & Littvay, L. (2021) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12768 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
The impact of economic inequality on conspiracy beliefs
Casara, B. G. S., Suitner, C., & Jetten, J. (2021) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104245 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
Krouwel, A., Kutiyski, Y., van Prooijen, J.-W., Martinsson, J., & Markstedt, E. (2017) · Journal of Social and Political Psychology · doi:10.5964/jspp.v5i2.745 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Suspicion 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-citationOrganizational Conspiracy Beliefs: Implications for Leadership Styles and Employee Outcomes
van Prooijen, J., & de Vries, R. E. (2015) · Journal of Business and Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10869-015-9428-3 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
Believing in Conspiracy Theories: Evidence from an Exploratory Analysis of Italian Survey Data
Mancosu, M., Vassallo, S., & Vezzoni, C. (2017) · South European Society & Politics · doi:10.1080/13608746.2017.1359894 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Anxious 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-citationPytlik, N., Soll, D., & Mehl, S. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.568942 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
“For example, people who believed that Princess Diana had been murdered were also more likely to agree that she had also faked her own death (8).”
Wood, M. (2017) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjop.12231 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Self-citationIntention Seekers: Conspiracist Ideation and Biased Attributions of Intentionality
Brotherton, R., & French, C. C. (2015) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0124125 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Accepting, understanding, teaching, and learning (human) evolution: Obstacles and opportunities
Pobiner, B. L. (2016) · American Journal of Physical Anthropology · doi:10.1002/ajpa.22910 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
- Authors
- Wood, M. J., Douglas, K. M., & Sutton, R. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Kent (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Wood, Michael J.
- Venue
- Social Psychological and Personality Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2012-01-25
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 767-773
- ISSN
- 1948-5506 (ISSN-L)
- 1948-5514
- OpenAlex
- W2133598673
- Cited by
- 660
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 49 · 2025: 52 · 2024: 67 · 2023: 60 · 2022: 90 · 2021: 96 · 2020: 60 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 72.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Social Psychological and Personality Science (publishedVersion)
- 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 theories, belief endorsement, cover-up, Princess Diana, Osama bin Laden, Bayesian networks, conspiracy beliefs
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