Belief in Conspiracy Theories

“Indeed, research shows that members of low-status social groups are more likely to endorse conspiracy theories than members of high-status groups (Abalakina-Paap et al., 1999; Crocker, Luhtanen, Broadnax, & Blaine, 1999; Goertzel, 1994; Uscinski & Parent, 2014).”

“Recent research suggests that conspiracy beliefs are more common among ‘those who are more marginalized, reflected by lower levels of psychological well-being, education, and income’ [16,17,23].”

“These are examples of conspiracy theories—explanations for important events that involve secret plots by powerful and malevolent groups (e.g., Goertzel, 1994).”

“Psychologists are learning more about the traits and characteristics associated with beliefs in conspiracy theories more generally, such as mistrust, anomie, political cynicism and Machiavellianism [8], [20], [31], [50], and it will be useful to know if the same, or different factors predict anti-vaccine conspiracy be…”

“, 1999) and anomia (Goertzel, 1994), paranoia and schizotypy (Grzesiak-Feldman and Ejsmont, 2008; Holm, 2009), paranormal belief (Ramsay, 2006), RWA (Adorno et al.”

“A moderate positive correlation with GCB scores was expected based on previous findings (Goertzel, 1994).”

“However, previous work has identified a number of personality variables associated with the belief in specific conspiracy theories, such as low levels of trust (Goertzel, 1994), feelings of powerlessness and low self-esteem (Abalakina-Paap, Stephan, Craig, & Gregory, 1999), low levels of agreeableness (Swami et al.”

“Although Andeweg (2014) did not directly assess belief in conspiracy theories, measures of trust in, and satisfaction with, politicians have been found to closely predict such beliefs (Abalakina-Paap et al., 1999; Goertzel, 1994).”

“This mistrust can be conceptualised as a conspiracy mentality (Brotherton, French, & Pickering, 2013; Goertzel, 1994; Imhoff & Bruder, 2014): a way of seeing the world that is marked by antipathy to official or mainstream accounts or to those in higher status positions.”

“For example, whereas coherence is a hallmark of most scientific theories, 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].”

“Much of this research interest has focused on the individual correlates of conspiracy belief, but perhaps the most consistent finding in the work on the psychology of conspiracy theories is that belief in a particular theory is strongly predicted by belief in others—even ostensibly unrelated ones (Douglas & Sutton, 20…”

“, or that the Air Force is hiding evidence of extraterrestrial visitors (Goertzel, 1994; Swami, ChamorroPremuzic, & Furnham, 2009).”

“…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,…”

“Evidence of an association between belief in this entirely fictitious conspiracy theory and real-world conspiracy theories would provide strong evidence for a monological belief system in relation to conspiracist ideation (Goertzel, 1994).”

“Goertzel (1994), in one of the few studies to examine the correlates of beliefs in conspiracies, found that such beliefs were related to low levels of trust and high levels of anomie.”

“This is important given the many detrimental implications of believing in conspiracy theories, for public health (Oliver & Wood, 2014), political participation (Goertzel, 1994; Jolley & Douglas, 2014), and radicalization (Van Prooijen et al., 2015).”

“with a general index of anomie, which has been associated with beliefs in conspiracy theories in previous work (Abalakina-Paap et al., 1999; Goertzel, 1994).”

“…2015; Cichocka, Marchlewska, & Golec de Zavala, 2016; Douglas & Sutton, 2008, 2011, 2015; Douglas, Sutton, Callan, Dawtry, & Harvey, 2016; Goertzel, 1994; McCauley & Jacques, 1979; Sutton & Douglas, 2014; van Prooijen & Jostmann, 2013; Uscinski & Parent, 2014; Wood, Douglas, & Sutton,…”

“This suggests that belief in conspiracies might work as a monological worldview, or belief system, in which individual beliefs reinforce one another in a coherent narrative, not di erent from a political ideology (Converse, 1964; Goertzel, 1994).”

“For instance, a good predictor of belief in one conspiracy theory is belief in a different, conceptually unrelated conspiracy theory (e.g., Douglas & Sutton, 2011; Goertzel, 1994; Lewandowski, Oberauer, & Gignac, 2013; Swami, Chamorro-Premuzic, & Furnham, 2010; Swami et al., 2011, 2013; Van Prooijen et al., 2015; Wood…”

“For example, a number of recent studies have revealed that belief in one conspiracy is highly predictive of belief in other conspiracies (Goertzel, 1994; Swami et al., 2011).”

“Early studies on conspiracy theories relied mostly on correlational evidence in cross-sectional designs (e.g., Abalakina-Paap, Stephan, Craig, & Gregory, 1999; Goertzel, 1994), or studied conspiracy thinking as a function of demographic variables such as political party affiliation (Wright & Arbuthnot, 1974) or ethnic…”

“…general belief system assuming that the world is being governed by conspiracies (i.e., a “monological belief system”, or a “conspiratorial mindset”; see Goertzel, 1994; Douglas & Sutton, 2011; Lewandowsky, Oberauer, & Gignac, 2013; Swami et al., 2010, 2011, 2013; Van Prooijen et al., 2015; Wood,…”

“In earlier work on conspiracy theories, we discovered that conspiracy theorists collaboratively negotiate a single explanatory narrative framework, often composed of a pastiche of smaller narratives, aligning otherwise unaligned domains of human interaction as they develop a totalizing narrative [47][25][58].”

“Goertzel (1994) has suggested that conspiracy theories form part of a “monological belief system,” such that the adoption of a conspiracist worldview makes the assimilation of novel conspiracy theories more likely.”

“As described by Goertzel (1994), these conspiracy theory believers are monological thinkers; believers take each conspiracy belief as evidence for other conspiracies.”

“For instance, beliefs about governmental conspiracies are associated with feelings of alienation from the government (AbalakinaPaap et al., 1999; Goertzel, 1994).”

“…(Whitson, Galinsky, & Kay, 2015), low self-esteem (Abalakina-Paap et al., 1999; Swami et al., 2011), and a lack of understanding of the sociopolitical reality (Abalakina-Paap et al., 1999; Goertzel, 1994; Imhoff & Bruder, 2014; Swami, Chamorro-Premuzic, & Furnham, 2010; Swami et al., 2011).”

“Conspiracy perceptions are complex cognitions and have been the subject of considerable study by social scientists representing a variety of disciplines (Baker & Faulkner, 1993; Goertzel, 1997; Graumann, 1987; Graumann & Moscovici, 1987; Harrison & Thomas, 1997; Johnson, 1983; Kramer & Messick, 1997; Pipes, 1997; Robi…”

“…belief, a construct related to paranoid ideation and schizotypy, operationalized as the acceptance of processes and phenomena that are scientifically impossible (e.g., precognition, psychokinesis, extra-sensory perception) was positively linked to conspiracy beliefs as well (Darwin et al., 2011).”

“Conspiracy theories provide simple answers for unanswered questions and an enemy to blame for the problem (Goertzel 1994), help to explain negative events (Dillinger 2004; Kofta and Sędek 2005), allow people to retain a sense of safety and predictability (Bale 2007; Leman 2007).”

“Similarly, Goertzel (1994) found that African Americans and Hispanics were more 941 Authors’ Note: We are grateful to Nancy Collins, James Jones, Steven Spencer, Mark Zanna, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article.”

“Conspiracy theories explain the ultimate causes of significant events as the secret actions of malevolent groups, who cover up information to suit their own interests (e.g., Douglas, Sutton, & Cichocka, 2017; Goertzel, 1994; McCauley & Jacques, 1979).”

“Related to these arguments, research indicates that conspiracy beliefs are grounded in a monological belief system: One conspiracy belief reinforces other conspirational ideas, rendering people who believe in one conspiracy theory more likely to also believe in other conspiracy theories (Goertzel, 1994; Lewandowski, O…”

“DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8309.2010.02018.x studies point to the role of psychological traits such as anomie and a chronic lack of trust in others in the tendency to adopt conspiracy theories (Goertzel, 1994; Leman & Cinnirella, 2005; Swami, Chamorro-Premuzic, & Furnham, 2010).”

“, 2011; Vitriol & Marsh, 2018) and anomia (e.g., Abalakina-Paap et al., 1999; Goertzel, 1994) and feel less satisfied with democracy in general (e.”

“…denial, decreased civic virtue, aggression, and ideological radicalization (Abalakina-Paap, Stephan, Craig, & Gregory, 1999; Asser & Swan, 1998; Goertzel, 1994; Grebe and Nattrass, 2012; Jolley & Douglas, 2014; Nahin, Barnes, Stussman, and Bloom, 2009; Shermer, 2011; Van Prooijen, Krouwel, &…”

“…of London, UK Reviewed by: Robert Brotherton, University of London, UK Adrian Furnham, University College London, UK *Correspondence: Patrick J. Leman, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU, UK e-mail:…”

“An experimental study with students indicated that exposure to conspiracy beliefs may reduce engagement in politics [11], while the presence of paranoia and the holding of conspiracy theories were significantly associated in a study of 120 students [12].”

“…widely accepted in society (e.g., the belief that powerful leaders of this planet are members of a race of lizards seeking world domination), while others are held by a majority of the population (e.g., the belief that the Kennedy assassination was not the work of a lone gunman; Goertzel, 1994).”

“Specifically, the extent to which a person endorses one specific conspiracy theory is a good predictor of the extent to which that person will endorse others, and this finding is one of the most robust in the literature (Goertzel, 1994; Sutton & Douglas, 2014; Swami et al., 2011).”

“The conspiratorial mindset, provides a framework for accommodating new phenomena, which otherwise would threaten the belief system (Goertzel, 1994).”

“Conspiracy theories are explanations for events that assume secretive, malevolent plots involving multiple actors: a mysterious “them,” who “run” things and work against “us” (Abalakina-Paap, Stephan, Craig, & Gregory, 1999; Goertzel, 1994).”

“…could naturally arise as the result of an inclination toward arguing by analogy: conspiracists might compare the 9/11 attacks to the JFK assassination, which a majority of Americans believe was the result of a conspiracy (Goertzel, 1994), in order to make a conspiracy theory seem more plausible.”

“This is perhaps not surprising when we consider that belief in conspiracy theories is thought to be monological; that is, endorsement of one conspiracy theory makes acceptance of other conspiracy theories more likely [6, 8, 26] .”

“Specifically, social anomie, lack of trust, and feelings of powerlessness are among the main predictors of conspiracy beliefs (Abalakina-Paap, Stephan, Craig, & Gregory, 1999; Goertzel, 1994).”

“…shootings in France) or climatic disaster (e.g., the 2001 tsunami in Japan), many people start to disbelieve official explanations in favor of what are known as conspiracy theories—explanations that refer to hidden groups working in secret to achieve sinister objectives (e.g., Goertzel, 1994).”

“The persistence of such incorrect beliefs even in the face of contradictory information, has long been lamented (Goertzel, 1994; Nyhan and Reifler, 2010).”

“Psychological qualities associated with CT belief include Machiavellianism (Douglas and Sutton, 2011), schizotypy (Darwin et al., 2011), anomie, political cynicism, distrust in authority, (Goertzel, 1994; Abalakina-Paap et al., 1999; Swami et al., 2011).”

“That such general tendencies exist, i.e., that beliefs in very different and even contradictory conspiracy theories correlate, is a well-known phenomenon (Goertzel 1994).”

“In a landmark paper, the sociologist Goertzel (1994) explored how conspiracy theories may appeal in particular to ethnic minority groups and put forward the influential idea that belief in conspiracy theories can develop into a distinct and self-sustaining mindset.”

“In other words, one CT belief becomes “evidence” for others (Goertzel, 1994).”

“We argue that such convictions function similarly to conspiracy beliefs, which can be defined as beliefs in secret plots by powerful and malevolent groups (e.g., Douglas & Sutton, 2008; Goertzel, 1994).”

“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).”

“Sometimes research has found a reversed pattern— compared to that one hypothesized and confirmed in the present research— but when considering more general measure of trust at large (e.g., Abalakina- Paap et al., 1999; Goertzel, 1994).”

“The meme becomes a habit of thought: the more people believe in one conspiracy, the more likely they are to believe in others (Goertzel, 1994; Kramer, 1998).”