Facets of conspiratorial thinking linked to the rejection of specific scientific innovations
New research sheds light on the relationship between distrust of new scientific innovations and the general tendency to believe in...
Conspiracy theorists and religious people are more likely to commit a ‘conjunction fallacy’ in contexts related to their worldviews
A study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology sheds light on how a person’s worldview can lead them to jump to...
People with a conspiracy mindset are no less likely to accept vaccines — so long as their friends accept them, too
A study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology sheds light on a promising avenue for reducing vaccine hesitancy....
New study indicates conspiracy theory believers have less developed critical thinking abilities
New research published in Applied Cognitive Psychology provides evidence that critical thinking skills are negatively related to belief in conspiracy...
New psychology research uncovers why people with “Dark Tetrad” personality traits are more likely to believe conspiracy theories
A study from the journal Personality and Individual Differences suggests that there may be an underlying, shared feature of dark...
Study indicates Donald Trump was the main anti-vaccination influencer on Twitter in 2020
Anti-vaccination profiles on Twitter tend to be more engaged in discussions and rely on a more interconnected social network compared...
Belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories linked to greater egotism
COVID-19 has become one of the defining global events of the decade. It has affected more lives than nearly any...
Multi-country study finds cultural values of collectivism and masculinity are tied to belief in conspiracy theories
New research published in Political Psychology provides the first evidence that culture can shape the endorsement of conspiracy theories. The...
Belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories linked to increases in anxiety, according to new research
A new study published in Personality and Individual Differences provides evidence that conspiracy theories about COVID-19 can have a negative...
Study suggests conspiracy theories start to take hold around age 14
Conspiracy theories tend to prosper in times of crisis. When people are looking for ways to cope with uncertainty and...
A tendency toward intuitive thinking helps explain the link between schizotypal traits and conspiracy beliefs
According to findings published in Applied Cognitive Psychology, a person’s preferred thinking style can increase their susceptibility to believing in...
Feelings of anxiety and lack of control about COVID-19 linked to belief in conspiracy theories
People with greater feelings of anxiety and lack of control during the early stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic were more...
Conspiracy beliefs moderate the link between political partisanship and endorsement of COVID-19 prevention measures
New research from Brazil helps to untangle the relationships between conspiracy beliefs, political partisanship, and support for COVID-19 prevention measures....
Study suggests conspiracy theory beliefs are not used to compensate for perceived lack of control
Conspiracy theories are recognized in most scientific domains as particularly dangerous. Climate change deniers, anti-vaxxers and, most recently, COVID-19 “shamdemic”...
People who believe COVID-19 conspiracy theories tend to struggle with scientific reasoning, study finds
Individuals with a better grasp of scientific reasoning are less likely to fall prey to false conspiracy theories about the...