Conspiracy Theories

"Conspiracy theories have a storyline that actually has a lot in common with entertaining works of fiction, such as a scary movie of a detective novel. This also explains their appeal: People find conspiracy theories entertaining, that is, interesting, exciting,...

New research sheds light on the relationship between distrust of new scientific innovations and the general tendency to believe in conspiracies. The study provides evidence that different facets of conspiracism predict different anti-science attitudes. The findings have been published in...

A study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology sheds light on how a person’s worldview can lead them to jump to erroneous conclusions in domains that correspond to these views. The researchers found that greater conspiracy belief was associated with increased...

A study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology sheds light on a promising avenue for reducing vaccine hesitancy. The researchers found that when people with a conspiracy mindset perceived their social circle as being supportive of vaccines (including...

New research published in Applied Cognitive Psychology provides evidence that critical thinking skills are negatively related to belief in conspiracy theories. In other words, the study suggests that people with greater critical thinking skills are less likely to believe that...

A study from the journal Personality and Individual Differences suggests that there may be an underlying, shared feature of dark personality traits that explains why each one is tied to conspiracy belief. The study found that nearly all of the...

Anti-vaccination profiles on Twitter tend to be more engaged in discussions and rely on a more interconnected social network compared to their pro-vaccination counterparts, according to new research published in PLOS One. The study also indicates that former President Donald...

COVID-19 has become one of the defining global events of the decade. It has affected more lives than nearly any other phenomenon of the 20th century, and has become critically embedded in many nations’ culture and psyche. It is also...

New research published in Political Psychology provides the first evidence that culture can shape the endorsement of conspiracy theories. The researchers analyzed data from multiple countries and found that the cultural values of masculinity and collectivism were consistent predictors of...

A new study published in Personality and Individual Differences provides evidence that conspiracy theories about COVID-19 can have a negative personal impact on individuals who adhere to such beliefs. The research indicates that COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs predict heightened levels of...

Conspiracy theories tend to prosper in times of crisis. When people are looking for ways to cope with uncertainty and threat, conspiracy theories may seem to offer simple answers. However, instead of making things better, conspiracy theories often make things...

According to findings published in Applied Cognitive Psychology, a person’s preferred thinking style can increase their susceptibility to believing in conspiracy theories. The study found that intuitive thinking — a thinking style driven by emotions over rationality — mediates the...

People with greater feelings of anxiety and lack of control during the early stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic were more likely to endorse some conspiracy theories about the deadly virus, according to new research published in Applied Cognitive Psychology. "Our...

New research from Brazil helps to untangle the relationships between conspiracy beliefs, political partisanship, and support for COVID-19 prevention measures. The study provides more evidence that polarization endangers the effectiveness of public strategies to cope with the pandemic. "My main...

Conspiracy theories are recognized in most scientific domains as particularly dangerous. Climate change deniers, anti-vaxxers and, most recently, COVID-19 “shamdemic” conspiracy theorists all slow progress and, in some and extreme cases, put lives at risk, even beyond those who subscribe...