Cited by 626Misinformation and Its ImpactsTerrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political ViolenceSocial and Intergroup Psychology

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 41 of the 41 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Political Extremism Predicts Belief in Conspiracy Theories

van Prooijen, Jan-Willem, Krouwel, André P. M., Pollet, Thomas V.·2015·Social Psychological and Personality Science

DOI 10.1177/1948550614567356

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Historical records suggest that the political extremes—at both the “left” and the “right”—substantially endorsed conspiracy beliefs about other-minded groups. The present contribution empirically tests whether extreme political ideologies, at either side of the political spectrum, are positively associated with an increased tendency to believe in conspiracy theories. Four studies conducted in the United States and the Netherlands revealed a quadratic relationship between strength of political ideology and conspiracy beliefs about various political issues. Moreover, participants’ belief in simple political solutions to societal problems mediated conspiracy beliefs among both left- and right-wing extremists. Finally, the effects described here were not attributable to general attitude extremity. Our conclusion is that political extremism and conspiracy beliefs are strongly associated due to a highly structured thinking style that is aimed at making sense of societal events.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1177/1948550614567356

Cites

41 of 41 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Quantifying and Testing Indirect Effects in Simple Mediation Models When the Constituent Paths Are Nonlinear
Hayes, A. F., & Preacher, K. J. (2010) · Multivariate Behavioral Research · doi:10.1080/00273171.2010.498290 · Cited by 1,160
Lacking control increases illusory pattern perception
Whitson, J. A., & Galinsky, A. D. (2008) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1159845 · Cited by 1,119
Belief in conspiracy theories
Goertzel, T. (1994) · Political Psychology · doi:10.2307/3791630 · Cited by 1,094 · cited 2×
“…and facilitates other conspiratorial ideas, rendering belief in one conspiracy theory an excellent predictor of belief in other conspiracy theories (Goertzel, 1994; Lewandowski, Oberauer, & Gignac, 2013; Swami, Chamorro-Premuzic, & Furnham, 2010; Swami et al., 2011, 2013; Wood, Douglas, & Sutton,…”
Background
Conspiracy theories: Causes and cures
Sunstein, C. R., & Vermeule, A. (2009) · Journal of Political Philosophy · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9760.2008.00325.x · Cited by 1,050 · cited 1×
“Various authors noted that the crippled epistemology that characterizes political extremism is also inherent to conspiracy beliefs (Sunstein & Vermeule, 2009; Swami et al., 2013).”
Background
Dead and Alive: Beliefs in Contradictory Conspiracy Theories
Wood, M. J., Douglas, K. M., & Sutton, R. M. (2012) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/1948550611434786 · Cited by 660
Paranoia and self-consciousness.
Fenigstein, A., & Vanable, P. (1992) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.62.1.129 · Cited by 643
NASA Faked the Moon Landing—Therefore, (Climate) Science Is a Hoax: An Anatomy of the Motivated Rejection of Science
Lewandowsky, S., Oberauer, K., & Gignac, G. E. (2013) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797612457686 · Cited by 638
Groups as epistemic providers: Need for closure and the unfolding of group-centrism.
Kruglanski, A. W., Pierro, A., Mannetti, L., & Grada, E. D. (2006) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.113.1.84 · Cited by 555
Conspiracist ideation in Britain and Austria: evidence of a monological belief system and associations between individual psychological differences and real-world and fictitious conspiracy theories.
Swami, V., Coles, R., Stieger, S., Pietschnig, J., Furnham, A., Rehim, S., & Voracek, M. (2011) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.2010.02004.x · Cited by 502
Unanswered questions: a preliminary investigation of personality and individual difference predictors of 9/11 conspiracist beliefs
Swami, V., Chamorro‐Premuzic, T., & Furnham, A. (2010) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.1583 · Cited by 499

Show all 41 references

Sorted by citations

Items 201–300 of 624

Conspiracy Theory Psychology
Wood, M. J., & Douglas, K. M. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0016 · Cited by 22
Modern health worries: Deriving two measurement invariant short scales for cross-cultural research with Ant Colony Optimization
Olaru, G., Wilhelm, O., Nordin, S., Witthöft, M., & Köteles, F. G. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0211819 · Cited by 20
Both‐Sideology Endangers Democracy and Social Science
Jost, J. T. (2024) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/josi.12633 · Cited by 23
On the relationship between age and conspiracy beliefs
Bordeleau, J., & Stockemer, D. (2024) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.13044 · Cited by 30
“Indeed, studies demonstrate that conspiracy beliefs find greater support on the extremes of the political spectrum, particularly on the extreme right (Imhoff, Zimmer, et al., 2022; Thórisdóttir et al., 2020; Van Prooijen et al., 2015).”
Conspiracy beliefs in Britain and North Macedonia: A comparative study.
Stojanov, A., & Douglas, K. M. (2021) · International Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1002/ijop.12801 · Cited by 16
BEYOND RELIGION
Pelizzo, R., & Kuzenbayev, N. (2023) · World Affairs · doi:10.1177/00438200231203101 · Cited by 23
“In other words, this type of analysis allows us to explore the nexus between superstitious mindset and extreme right political orientation.”
Background
“These Are Just Stories, Mulder”: Exposure to Conspiracist Fiction Does Not Produce Narrative Persuasion
Nera, K., Pantazi, M., & Klein, O. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00684 · Cited by 20
“…and contextual factors involved in the endorsement of CTs have also been investigated, although they have attracted less attention (van Prooijen and Jostmann, 2013; Mashuri and Zaduqisti, 2015; van Prooijen and van Dijk, 2014; Van Prooijen et al., 2015; Uenal, 2016; Van Prooijen and Douglas, 2017).”
BackgroundResultInfluential
Bringing political psychology into the study of populism
Kaltwasser, C. R. (2021) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2020.0148 · Cited by 21
“[22] advance a similar argument in their study of political extremism and belief in conspiracy theories, since they maintain that support for different types of conspiracies might be moderated by the ideological inclinations of citizens.”
Background
Verschwörungsmentalität und Extremismus – Befunde aus Befragungsstudien in der Schweiz
Baier, D., & Manzoni, P. (2020) · Monatsschrift für Kriminologie und Strafrechtsreform · doi:10.1515/mks-2020-2044 · Cited by 6
The effectiveness of a scientific reasoning intervention for conspiracy theory beliefs
Georgiou, N., Delfabbro, P., & Balzan, R. P. (2023) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.4039 · Cited by 18
Rejection of the status quo: Conspiracy theories and preference for alternative political systems
Papaioannou, K., Pantazi, M., & van Prooijen, J. (2024) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12754 · Cited by 18
Left–right political orientations are not systematically related to conspiracism
Enders, A. M., Klofstad, C., Littrell, S., Miller, J. M., Theocharis, Y., Uscinski, J. E., & Zilinsky, J. (2024) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.13017 · Cited by 18
“…find that conspiracism is more prominent on the right (Galliford & Furnham, 2017; van der Linden et al., 2021; Walter & Drochon, 2020), on the left (Costello et al., 2022; Furnham, 2013), in the center (Marques et al., 2022), and at the extremes (Krouwel et al., 2017; van Prooijen et al., 2015).”
Pseudo-Media Sites, Polarization, and Pandemic Skepticism in Spain
Palau-Sampio, D. (2021) · Frontiers in Political Science · doi:10.3389/fpos.2021.685295 · Cited by 20
Seven years of studying the associations between political polarization and problematic information: a literature review
Marino, G., & Iannelli, L. (2023) · Frontiers in Sociology · doi:10.3389/fsoc.2023.1174161 · Cited by 26
Conspiracism in Populist Radical Right Candidates: Rallying the Base or Mainstreaming the Fringe?
Sawyer, P. S. (2021) · International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society · doi:10.1007/s10767-021-09398-4 · Cited by 13
Savoirs incertains
Boullier, H., Kotras, B., & Siles, I. (2021) · RESET · doi:10.4000/reset.2698 · Cited by 17
Beyond Threat and Uncertainty: The Underpinnings of Conservatism
Proulx, T., & Brandt, M. J. (2017) · Social Cognition · doi:10.1521/soco.2017.35.4.313 · Cited by 17
Conspiratorial thinking and foreign policy views: evidence from Central Europe
Onderčo, M., & Stoeckel, F. (2020) · Journal of Elections Public Opinion and Parties · doi:10.1080/17457289.2020.1814309 · Cited by 17
“A burgeoning literature in social sciences now examines the origins of conspiracy theories and conspiratorial thinking (Miller, Saunders, and Farhart 2016; Uscinski, Klofstad, and Atkinson 2016; van Prooijen and Jostmann 2013; van Prooijen, Krouwel, and Pollet 2015).”
Background
A Panel Study on the Dynamics of Social Media Use and Conspiracy Thinking
Valenzuela, S., Diehl, T., Lee, S., & Halpern, D. M. (2023) · Media Psychology · doi:10.1080/15213269.2023.2295522 · Cited by 18
“We also measured age, income, ideology and traditional media use as exogenous variables, considering that existing research has demonstrated their influence on social media use and conspiracy thinking (Strömbäck et al., 2023; Uscinski et al., 2022; van Prooijen et al., 2015).”
Political Extremism and Perceived Anomie: New Evidence of Political Extremes’ Symmetries and Asymmetries Within French Samples
Ionescu, O., Tavani, J., & Collange, J. (2021) · International Review of Social Psychology · doi:10.5334/irsp.573 · Cited by 16
Religion, Conspiracy Thinking, and the Rejection of Democracy: Evidence From the UK
Yendell, A., & Herbert, D. (2022) · Politics and Governance · doi:10.17645/pag.v10i4.5904 · Cited by 17
“…and European evidence suggests that conspiracy theorising is found mostly at the extremes of the far‐left and far‐right but is stronger on the right (van Prooijen et al., 2015), possi‐ bly because the same personality traits (such as a strong need to manage uncertainty) are associated with both…”
Background
Conspiracy Theories and Foreign Policy Narratives: Globalism in Jair Bolsonaro’s Foreign Policy
Guimarães, F. D. S., Moreira, D. C., Silva, I. D. G. D. O. E., & de Mello, A. C. R. (2023) · Latin American Perspectives · doi:10.1177/0094582x221147504 · Cited by 16
“Van Prooijen, Krouwel, and Pollet (2015) have shown that people at political extremes endorse conspiracy theories more strongly than those at the political center.”
Background
The Politics of Disruption
Atkinson, M., & DeWitt, D. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0008 · Cited by 17
Does social rigidity predict cognitive rigidity? Profiles of socio-cognitive polarization
Salvi, C., Iannello, P., Cancer, A., Cooper, S. E., McClay, M., Dunsmoor, J. E., & Antonietti, A. (2023) · Psychological Research · doi:10.1007/s00426-023-01832-w · Cited by 16
Attributing and Managing the Crisis: Lay Representations in Three European Countries
Παπαστάμου, Σ., Chryssochoou, X., Pavlopoulos, V., Prodromitis, G., Poeschl, G., Mari, S., Valentim, J. P., Volpato, C., Marchand, P., & Ratinaud, P. (2018) · International Review of Social Psychology · doi:10.5334/irsp.148 · Cited by 15
Conspiracy Theory
McKenzie-McHarg, A. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0004 · Cited by 18
Political consequences of conspiratorial thinking: evidence from 2016 Italian constitutional referendum
Mancosu, M., Ladini, R., & Vassallo, S. (2020) · Acta Politica · doi:10.1057/s41269-019-00146-3 · Cited by 15
Uncertain Knowledge. Studying “Truth” and “Conspiracies” in the Digital Age
Boullier, H., Kotras, B., & Siles, I. (2021) · RESET · doi:10.4000/reset.2750 · Cited by 15
Deprived, Radical, Alternatively Informed
Ziegele, M., Resing, M., Frehmann, K., Jackob, N., Jakobs, I., Quiring, O., Schemer, C., Schultz, T., & Viehmann, C. (2022) · European Journal of Health Communication · doi:10.47368/ejhc.2022.205 · Cited by 15
“The conspirators can be anyone perceived as powerful, such as a government, scientists, CEOs, religious organizations, but also socially marginalised groups (van Prooijen et al., 2015).”
BackgroundInfluential
Media Marginalization of Racial Minorities
Orr, M., & Husting, G. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0005 · Cited by 16
Far-right extremist narratives in Canadian and Swedish COVID-19 protests: a comparative case study of the Freedom Movement and Freedom Convoy
Askanius, T., Molas, B., & Amarasingam, A. (2024) · Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression · doi:10.1080/19434472.2024.2340492 · Cited by 14
“…large body of research suggests that political extremism predicts a general susceptibility to conspiracy theory belief (see, e.g. Amarasingam, 2019; van Prooijen et al., 2015; Warner & Neville-Shepard, 2014) and recent research on this interplay has documented the consistency and frequency with…”
Онлайн-дейтинг: рынок или базар? Процесс поиска брачной пары на православном сайте знакомств
Galitsina, K., Kalinovskaya, P., & Khvorostianova, O. (2022) · Journal of Economic Sociology · doi:10.17323/1726-3247-2022-2-65-90 · Cited by 16
Blurring Boundaries of Journalism in Digital Media
Negreira-Rey, M.-C., Vázquez-Herrero, J., García, J. S., & García, X. L. (2023) · Studies in big data · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-43926-1 · Cited by 16
On the Democratic Problem of Conspiracy Politics
Moore, A. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0007 · Cited by 14
Seeing thought: a cultural cognitive tool
Morais, J., & Kolinsky, R. (2020) · Journal of Cultural Cognitive Science · doi:10.1007/s41809-020-00059-0 · Cited by 23
Authority-led conspiracy theories in China during the COVID-19 pandemic – Exploring the thematic features and rhetoric strategies
Cheng, C. Y., Zhang, W. J., & Zhang, Q. (2022) · Convergence The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies · doi:10.1177/13548565221102592 · Cited by 14
From Podcasts to Protests: Examining the Influence of Podcasts and Misinformation on Contentious Political Participation
Rasul, M. E., Ahmed, S., Cho, J., & Gil‐López, T. (2025) · Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media · doi:10.1080/08838151.2025.2495803 · Cited by 19
“…of misinformation on podcasts, we propose the following hypothesis: Political scientists have found that beliefs in misinformation and conspiracy theories are linked to adverse political outcomes such as increased criminal behavior and extremism (Jolley et al., 2019; van Prooijen et al., 2015).”
Leveraging artificial intelligence to identify the psychological factors associated with conspiracy theory beliefs online
Kunst, J. R., Gundersen, A. B., Krysińska, I., Piasecki, J., Wójtowicz, T., Ryguła, R., van der Linden, S., & Morzy, M. (2024) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-024-51740-9 · Cited by 15
Do voting and election outcomes predict changes in conspiracy beliefs? Evidence from two high-profile U.S. elections
Kim, S., Stavrova, O., & Vohs, K. D. (2022) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104396 · Cited by 13
“A recent multinational study has reported little to no moderation by country on psychographic and demographic correlates of conspiracy beliefs (Walter & Drochon, 2022).”
Conspiracy Theories and Violent Extremism
Bierwiaczonek, K., van Prooijen, J., van der Linden, S., & Rottweiler, B. (2025) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781009407892.011 · Cited by 13
Кто верит в теории заговора? Факторы склонности к конспирологическому мышлению в России, Казахстане и Украине
Kazun, A., & Porshnev, A. (2021) · Monitoring obŝestvennogo mneniâ: èkonomičeskie i socialʹnye peremeny · doi:10.14515/monitoring.2021.6.1889 · Cited by 12
Théories du complot et COVID-19 : comment naissent les croyances complotistes ?
Bottemanne, H. (2022) · L Encéphale · doi:10.1016/j.encep.2021.12.005 · Cited by 17
I Trends
Bordeleau, J. (2023) · International Political Science Abstracts · doi:10.1177/00208345231157664 · Cited by 12
“Recent research shows that individuals situated at ideological extremes are most susceptible to conspiratorial explanations, with those on the extreme right leading the way in terms of conspiracy beliefs (Sutton and Douglas, 2020; Van Prooijen et al., 2015).”
Conceptual Approaches to the Study of Spatial Inequality: the Case of Russian Education
Adamovich, K. (2022) · Journal of Economic Sociology · doi:10.17323/1726-3247-2022-2-147-161 · Cited by 10
Conspiracy Narratives as a Type of Social Myth
Chlup, R. (2023) · International Journal of Politics Culture and Society · doi:10.1007/s10767-023-09454-1 · Cited by 11
“This is what we find in various extremist political groups, which have been shown to be much more prone to con-spiracy thinking (van Prooijen et al., 2015).”
Upholding social hierarchies: Social dominance orientation moderates the link between (intergroup) conspiracy exposure and violent extremism
Schrader, T., Jolley, D., Jolley, R. P., & Krahenbuhl, S. (2024) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/13684302241247985 · Cited by 8
“…events can be viewed as rare and extreme violent occurrences perpetrated by “lone wolf” attackers, the associated conspiracy-driven ideology thrives within the communities that endorse extreme political views (Hebel-Sela et al., 2022; Kaplan, 2021; Rousis et al., 2022; van Prooijen et al., 2015).”
From conspiracies to insurgence: understanding the path from conspiracy beliefs to political engagement through the 3N model of radicalization
Cicco, G. D., Molinario, E., Contu, F., Pierro, A., Douglas, K. M., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2025) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-025-07710-5 · Cited by 12
Validation of the Spanish Version of the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale
Fasce, A., Avendaño, D., Dagnall, N., Denovan, A., & Escolà‐Gascón, Á. (2022) · The Spanish Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1017/sjp.2022.21 · Cited by 11
“This can concomitantly facilitate the appearance of radical political movements (Escolà-Gascón, 2020; van Prooijen et al., 2015; Wood & Gray, 2019).”
Background
Does the Information Source Matter? Newspaper Readership, Political Preferences and Attitudes Towards the EU in the UK, France and the Netherlands
Leruth, B., Kutiyski, Y., Krouwel, A. P. M., & Startin, N. (2017) · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · doi:10.1057/978-1-137-59643-7_5 · Cited by 11
Self-citation
Im Feld der Verschwörungstheorien – Interaktionsregeln und kollektive Identitäten einer verschwörungstheoretischen Bewegung
Buchmayr, F. (2019) · Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie · doi:10.1007/s11614-019-00385-w · Cited by 11
Nationalism, conspiracy theories and vaccine mandates: Exploring the statism determinants for attitudes to COVID-19 control in China
Zhang, R., Yan, J., Jia, H.-P., Luo, X., Lin, J.-K., & Liu, Q. (2023) · Vaccine: X · doi:10.1016/j.jvacx.2023.100263 · Cited by 9
Pourquoi les théories du complot se portent-elles si bien ? L’exemple de Charlie Hebdo
Bronner, G. (2016) · Diogène · doi:10.3917/dio.249.0009 · Cited by 14
De la mobilisation contre les « théories du complot » après les attentats de Paris des 7 et 9 janvier 2015
Kreis, E. (2016) · Diogène · doi:10.3917/dio.249.0051 · Cited by 11
I want to believe: The relationship between conspiratorial beliefs and populist attitudes in Spain
Guinjoan, M., & Galais, C. (2023) · Electoral Studies · doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2022.102574 · Cited by 12
Alternative science, alternative experts, alternative politics. The roots of pseudoscientific beliefs in Western Europe
Bordignon, F. (2023) · Journal of Contemporary European Studies · doi:10.1080/14782804.2023.2177838 · Cited by 10
“…of literature has suggested a link between conspiracy beliefs, distrust of political institutions, extremist (especially right-wing) and populist electoral orientations (Vezzoni et al. 2022; Mancosu, Vassallo, and Vezzoni 2017; Einstein and Glick 2015; van Prooijen, Krouwel, and Pollet 2015).”
Background
Conspiracy Mentality: How it Relates to Populism, Relative Deprivation, Mistrust of Expertise and Voting Behaviour
Loziak, A., & Havrillová, D. (2024) · Europe's Journal of Psychology · doi:10.5964/ejop.10049 · Cited by 10
“The explanation for this might be that people on the right are more likely to have personality predispositions that stimulate conspiracy thinking, such as low tolerance for uncertainty or a desire for simple solutions (van Prooijen et al., 2015).”
Background
Assessing Susceptibility Factors of Confirmation Bias in News Feed Reading
Boonprakong, N., Pareek, S., Tag, B., Gonçalves, J., & Dingler, T. (2025) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3706598.3713873 · Cited by 13
Conspiracy Theories in U.S. History
Olmstead, K. S. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0019 · Cited by 10
Factors affecting conspiracy theory endorsement in paranoia
Greenburgh, A., Liefgreen, A., Bell, V., & Raihani, N. (2022) · Royal Society Open Science · doi:10.1098/rsos.211555 · Cited by 9
“We also find that SECS was associated with conspiracy thinking, coinciding with evidence that conservatives in the United States are more likely to endorse and espouse conspiratorial theories and world views ([13]; but see [14]).”
Background
From Democratic Resistance to Hostility against a “Covid-Regime” – Conspiracy Theories as Cross-Milieu Catalysts of Radicalization
Rahlf, L. (2023) · Studies in Conflict and Terrorism · doi:10.1080/1057610x.2023.2169894 · Cited by 11
“63 Moreover, according to Rottweiler and Gill’s analysis of a representative German survey, there is a causal relationship between a stronger conspiracy mentality and violent extremist intentions, especially when someone has less self-control, weaker law-relevant morality, and more self-efficiency.”
‘We the people, not the sheeple’: QAnon and the transnational mobilisation of millennialist far-right conspiracy theories
Jones, C. D. (2023) · First Monday · doi:10.5210/fm.v28i3.12854 · Cited by 10
Alternative beliefs in psychedelic drug users
Lebedev, A. V., Acar, K., Horntvedt, O., Cabrera, A. E., Simonsson, O., Osika, W., Ingvar, M., & Petrović, P. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-42444-z · Cited by 10
So-Called Sovereign Settlers: Settler Conspirituality and Nativism in the Australian Anti-Vax Movement
Day, M., & Carlson, B. L. (2023) · Humanities · doi:10.3390/h12050112 · Cited by 10
In Whose Hands the Future?
Lewandowsky, S. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0010 · Cited by 12
The Societal Impacts of Covid-19: A Transnational Perspective
Bozkurt, V., Dawes, G. D., Gülerce, H., & Westenbroek, P. (2021) · Istanbul University Press eBooks · doi:10.26650/b/ss49.2021.006 · Cited by 19
To Convince, to Provoke or to Entertain? A Study on Individual Motivations behind Engaging with Conspiracy Theories Online
Morosoli, S., Aelst, P. V., & van Erkel, P. F. A. (2022) · Convergence The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies · doi:10.1177/13548565221105792 · Cited by 11
“In line with these results, van Prooijen et al. (2015) observed that individuals with extreme political ideologies, were more likely to belief in conspiracy theories.”
“Teach Your Girls to Stab, Not Sing”: Right-Wing Activism, Public Knife Distribution, and the Politics of Gendered Self-Defense in Mumbai, India
Sen, A. (2019) · Signs · doi:10.1086/701159 · Cited by 10
Почему важна демография
Dorling, D., & Gietel‐Basten, S. (2022) · Journal of Economic Sociology · doi:10.17323/1726-3247-2022-2-36-64 · Cited by 8
Development and use of an instrument to measure pseudoscientific beliefs in quantum mechanics: the PSEUDO-QM scale
Bondani, M., Galano, S., Malgieri, M., Onorato, P., Sciarretta, W., & Testa, I. (2024) · Research in Science & Technological Education · doi:10.1080/02635143.2024.2390847 · Cited by 9
“Research has shown that supporters of a conspiracy theory are more likely to also believe in other unrelated conspiracy theories (Swami et al. 2013) and to adopt authoritarian and identity-protective psychological mechanisms (van Prooijen, Krouwel, and Pollet 2015).”
Teaching and confronting digital extremism: contexts, challenges and opportunities
Rea, S. C. (2022) · Information and Learning Sciences · doi:10.1108/ils-08-2021-0065 · Cited by 9
Cover Ups and Conspiracy Theories: Demographics, Work Disenchantment, Equity Sensitivity, and Beliefs in Cover-ups
Furnham, A. F., & Horne, G. (2022) · Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.5093/jwop2022a2 · Cited by 9
“There has been a great increase of studies on CTs (Barron et al., 2014; Brotherton & French, 2014; Douglas et al., 2016; Imhoff & Lamberty, 2017; van Prooijen et al., 2015).”
Background
Escaping the Reality of the Pandemic: The Role of Hopelessness and Dissociation in COVID-19 Denialism
Ciacchella, C., Veneziani, G., Bagni, C., Campedelli, V., CASALE, A. D., & Lai, C. (2022) · Journal of Personalized Medicine · doi:10.3390/jpm12081302 · Cited by 9
Religions and Conspiracy Theories as the Authoritarian “Other” of Democracy?
Hidalgo, O. F. (2022) · Politics and Governance · doi:10.17645/pag.v10i4.5826 · Cited by 12
“…ideologies (e.g.Wood&Gray, 2019) or also for (right‐wing) populism and extremism (e.g. Bartlett & Miller, 2010; Bergmann, 2018; Bergmann & Butter, 2020; Lipset & Raab, 1970; Van Prooijen et al., 2015), the focus on the general relationship between democracy and conspiracy is rather one‐sided.”
Background
Trust in information sources as a moderator of the impact of COVID-19 anxiety and exposure to information on conspiracy thinking and misinformation beliefs: a multilevel study
Khalaf, M. A., & Shehata, A. M. K. (2023) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-023-01425-7 · Cited by 9
The Conspiratorial Style in Turkish Politics
Nefes, T. S. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0026 · Cited by 9
Teorias da conspiração: significados em contexto brasileiro
Rezende, A. T., da Silva, F. M. D. S. M., Ribeiro, M. G. C., Loureto, G. D. L., Neta, O. F. D. S., & Gouveia, V. V. (2019) · Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas) · doi:10.1590/1982-0275201936e180010 · Cited by 12
Early and Later Perceptions and Reactions to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany: On Predictors of Behavioral Responses and Guideline Adherence During the Restrictions
Lermer, E., Hudecek, M. F. C., Gaube, S., Raue, M., & Batz, F. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.769206 · Cited by 12
The Psychology and Neuroscience of Partisanship
Harris, E., Pärnamets, P., Sternisko, A., Robertson, C. E., & Bavel, J. J. V. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108779104.005 · Cited by 11
Your vaccine attitude determines your altitude. What are the determinants of attitudes toward vaccination?
Alfano, V., & Ercolano, S. (2022) · Vaccine · doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.10.038 · Cited by 12
“These results also shed some light on findings suggested by previous contributions [31,25,43] regarding the role of conspiracy beliefs in shaping individual attitudes toward vaccination.”
Influential
Conspiracy Thinking, Tolerance, and Democracy
Smallpage, S. M. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0012 · Cited by 9
Do you believe what you have been told? Morality and scientific literacy as predictors of pseudoscience susceptibility
Piejka, A., & Okruszek, Ł. (2020) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3687 · Cited by 15
Of Precarity and Conspiracy: Introducing A Socio-Functional Model of Conspiracy BeliefsPreprint
Adam‐Troian, J., Chayinska, M., Paladino, M. P., Uluğ, Ö. M., Vaes, J., & Wagner‐Egger, P. (2021) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/mnfrd · Cited by 9
«3D-модель» российской экономики
Chepurenko, A. Y. (2022) · Journal of Economic Sociology · doi:10.17323/1726-3247-2022-2-118-128 · Cited by 8
Role of Conspiracy Mentality and Paranormal Beliefs in Predicting Conspiracy Beliefs Among Neopagans
Dyrendal, A., Kennair, L. E. O., & Lewis, J. (2018) · International Journal for the Study of New Religions · doi:10.1558/ijsnr.36716 · Cited by 8
Alternative Epistemology in Far-Right Anti-Publics: A Qualitative Study of Australian Activists
Peucker, M., & Spaaij, R. (2023) · International Journal of Politics Culture and Society · doi:10.1007/s10767-023-09456-z · Cited by 14
“Notwithstanding the ‘ordi-nariness’ of conspiratorial thinking, research has also shown that conspiratorial thinking is more common at the radical political fringes, in particular within the far right (van Prooijen et al., 2015).”
Testing the link between conspiracy theories and violent extremism: a linguistic coding approach to far-right shooter manifestos
Vanderwee, J., & Droogan, J. (2023) · Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression · doi:10.1080/19434472.2023.2258952 · Cited by 8
“Since this time, conspiracy theories have been shown to be wielded members of the extreme political left and right (van Prooijen et al., 2015), and to commonly target minority outgroups that are perceived as threatening (McArthur, 1995).”
Correlation between coronavirus conspiracism and antisemitism: a cross-sectional study in the United Kingdom
Allington, D., Hirsh, D., & Katz, L. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-41794-y · Cited by 10
“It is acknowledged that self-placement on such a scale is a crude measure of ideology, but it is widely used in studies both of antisemitism 69 and of conspiracism 68,70 .”
Result
The Status Foundations of Conspiracy Beliefs
Roscigno, S. (2024) · Socius Sociological Research for a Dynamic World · doi:10.1177/23780231241237654 · Cited by 8
“Following prior findings (Imhoff et al. 2022; van Prooijen et al. 2015), I recode this into an indicator representing political polarization, measured as the distance from the center of the standard political scale (0 = moderate, 3 = very conservative or very liberal).”
Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories and Violent Extremism on the Far Right: a Public Health Approach to Counter-Radicalization
Byington, B. (2019) · Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism · doi:10.26613/jca/2.1.19 · Cited by 9
Superspreaders of Malign and Subversive Information on COVID-19: Russian and Chinese Efforts Targeting the United States
Matthews, M., Migacheva, K., & Brown, R. (2021) · RAND Corporation eBooks · doi:10.7249/rr-a112-11 · Cited by 11
Verschwörungsglaube, Medienzynismus und Militanz: Einstellungen und Informationsquellen von Menschen mit AfD-Wahlpräferenz – ein Beitrag zur Radikalisierungsforschung
Schultz, T., Ziegele, M., Jackob, N., Jakobs, I., Quiring, O., & Schemer, C. (2021) · ZRex – Zeitschrift für Rechtsextremismusforschung · doi:10.3224/zrex.v1i1.05 · Cited by 8
Social Prevalence Is Rationally Integrated in Belief Updating
Orticio, E., Martí, L., & Kidd, C. (2022) · Open Mind · doi:10.1162/opmi_a_00056 · Cited by 8
“…beliefs has sought to explain them away by appealing to ancillary influences on belief formation, like emotionality (Vlasceanu et al., 2020), political extremism (Van Prooijen et al., 2015), inattentiveness (Pennycook & Rand, 2019), and bullshit receptivity (Pennycook & Rand, 2020).”
Background
Political Extremism and a Generalized Propensity to Discriminate Among Values
Rigoli, F. (2022) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12839 · Cited by 8
The Truth Is Around Here Somewhere
Bost, P. R. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0018 · Cited by 8
Why the Powerful (in Weak States) Prefer Conspiracy Theories
Radnitz, S. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0023 · Cited by 8
Uncritical Patriotism and Belief in COVID-19 Conspiracies
Rieger, M. O. (2022) · Frontiers in Sociology · doi:10.3389/fsoc.2022.777650 · Cited by 8
Acceptance and adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures are shaped predominantly by conspiracy beliefs, mistrust in science and fear - A comparison of more than 20 psychological variablesPreprint
Hartmann, M., & Müller, P. (2021) · doi:10.31124/advance.16644889.v1 · Cited by 8
From Populism to the ‘Plandemic’: Why populists believe in COVID-19 conspiraciesPreprint
Eberl, J., Huber, R. A., & Greussing, E. (2020) · SocArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31235/osf.io/ejpw7 · Cited by 9
Democracy and belief in conspiracy theories in New ZealandPreprint
Marques, M. D., Hill, S., Clarke, E. J. R., Williams, M. N., Ling, M., Kerr, J. R., Douglas, K. M., Cichocka, A. K., & Sibley, C. G. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/s8qf4 · Cited by 8
Open-mindedness predicts support for public health measures and disbelief in conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemicPreprint
Pärnamets, P., Alfano, M., Bavel, J. J. V., & Ross, R. M. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/2ujra · Cited by 9

Authors: van Prooijen, J.-W., Krouwel, A. P. M., & Pollet, T. V.
Affiliations: VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
ORCID: Krouwel, André P. M.
Pollet, Thomas V.
Venue: Social Psychological and Personality Science
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2015-01-12
Volume: 6
Issue: 5
Pages: 570-578
ISSN: 1948-5506 (ISSN-L)
1948-5514
DOI: 10.1177/1948550614567356
OpenAlex: W2327590731
Cited by: 626
References: 41
Citations by year: 2026: 38 · 2025: 62 · 2024: 69 · 2023: 71 · 2022: 115 · 2021: 111 · 2020: 44 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 54 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 8
FWCI: 96.21
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Social Psychological and Personality Science (publishedVersion)
VU Research Portal (publishedVersion)
Northumbria Research Link (Northumbria University) (submittedVersion)
Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Keywords: political extremism, conspiracy beliefs, political ideology, left-wing extremism, right-wing extremism, attitude extremity

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Political Extremism Predicts Belief in Conspiracy Theories

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Related

Metadata

Record

About these checks