Theoretical Model of Behavioral Consequences of Faith in Conspiracy Theory
Abstract
The article analyzes researches of recent years on the current issues of studying psychological features of faith in conspiracy theory. It is noted that the relevance of this issue is determined by the lack of thorough theoretical and empirical research on the above issue. The authors for the first time reviewed and generalized analysis of socio-psychological predictors of belief in conspiracy theory and its behavioral consequences. It is determined that belief in conspiracy theory is associated with socio-political conditions (stressful situation of uncertainty in society, distrust of power, low social status, political cynicism, low level of education, etc.), individual psychological (schizotypal traits, neuroticism, mistrust, anxiety, insecurity, narcissism) and cognitive factors (conspiratorial type of thinking, etc ..) Analysis of literature revealed a number of positive and negative consequences of faith in the theory of conspiracies, which are sometimes contradictory. The result of this analysis is the proposed theoretical model of behavioral consequences of faith in conspiracy theory. In addition, the authors emphasize the generalization of the study results of conspiracy theories impact related to the spread of the COVID-19 virus on the implementation of preventive measures by the population. It is noted that people with a high conspiracy mentality are more likely to engage in abusive prevention behaviors, but are less likely to adhere to government-initiated preventive behaviors, although the perceived risk of death and motivation to defend themselves can minimize this trend.
Downloads
References
Abalakina-Paap, M., Stephan, W. G., Craig, T., & Gregory, W. L. (1999). Beliefs in conspiracies. Political Psychology, 20(3), 637–647. https://doi.org/10.1111/0162-895X.00160
Alper S., Bayrak F., & Yilmaz O. (2020). Psychological correlates of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and preventive measures: Evidence from Turkey. Current Psychology, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00903-0
Ballová Mikušková, Е. (2018). Conspiracy Beliefs of Future Teachers. Current Psychology 37(3), 692-70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9561-4
Banai I. P., Banai B., & Mikloušić, I. (2020). Beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories predict lower level of compliance with the preventive measures both directly and indirectly by lowering trust in government medical officials. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/yevq7
Bilewicz, M., Winiewski, M., Kofta, M., & Wójcik, A. (2013). Harmful ideas, the structure and consequences of anti‐Semitic beliefs in Poland. Political Psychology, 34(6), 821 839. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12024
Bogart, L. M., & Thorburn, S. (2005). Are HIV/AIDS Conspiracy Beliefs a Barrier to HIV Prevention Among African Americans? JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 38(2), 213–218. https://doi.org/10.1097/00126334-200502010-00014
Broderick, R. (2020, Feb). Trump's biggest supporters think t he coronavirus is a deep state plot. BuzzFeed. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/trump-supporters-coronavirus-deep-state-qanon
Bruder, M., Haffke, P., Neave, N., Nouripanah, N., & Imhoff, R. (2013). Measuring individual differences in generic beliefs in conspiracy theories across cultures: Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 225. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00225
Cichocka, A., Marchlewska, M., & Golec de Zavala, A. (2016). Does self‐love or self‐hate predict conspiracy beliefs? Narcissism, self‐esteem, and the endorsement of conspiracy theories. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 7, 157–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550615616170
Darwin, H., Neave, N., & Holmes, J. (2011). Belief in conspiracy theories. The role of paranormal belief, paranoid ideation and schizotypy. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(8), 1289–1293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.02.027
Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., & Cichocka, A. (2017). The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories. Current directions in psychological science, 26(6), 538–542. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417718261
Einstein, K. L., & Glick, D. M. (2015). Do I think BLS data are BS? The consequences of conspiracy theories. Political Behavior, 37(3), 679–701. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-014-9287-z
Forrest, A. (2020, April). Coronavirus: 700 dead in Iran after drinking toxic methanol alcohol to ‘cure Covid-19’. The Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/coronavirus-iran-deaths-toxic-methanol-alcohol-fake-news-rumours-a9487801.html
Franks B., Bangerter A., Bauer M.W., Hall M., Noort M.C. (2017). Beyond “monologicality”? Exploring conspiracist worldviews. Frontiers in psychology 8, 861. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00861
Galliford, N., & Furnham, A. (2017). Individual difference factors and beliefs in medical and political conspiracy theories. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 58(5), 422 428. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12382
Gaston G. B & Alleyne-Green B. (2013). The impact of African Americans' beliefs about HIV medical care on treatment adherence: a systematic review and recommendations for interventions. AIDS Behav 17(1), 31-40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-012-0323-x
Goertzel, T. (1994). Belief in conspiracy theories. Political Psychology, 15(4), 731–742. https://doi.org/10.2307/3791630
Golec de Zavala, A., Cichocka, A., & Iskra-Golec, I. (2013). Collective narcissism moderates the effect of in-group image threat on intergroup hostility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(6), 1019–1039. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032215
Goreis, A., & Voracek, M. (2019). A systematic review and meta-analysis of psychological research on conspiracy beliefs: Field characteristics, measurement instruments, and associations with personality traits. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 205. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00205
Grzesiak-Feldman, M. (2015). Are the high authoritarians more prone to adopt conspiracy theories? The role of right-wing authoritarianism in conspiratorial thinking. In M. Bilewicz, A. Cichocka, & W. Soral (Eds.), The psychology of conspiracy pp. 99–121. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Imhoff, R., & Lamberty P. (2018). How paranoid are conspiracy believers? Toward a more fine‐grained understanding of the connect and disconnect between paranoia and belief in conspiracy theories. European journal of social psychology, 48(7), 909-926. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2494
Imhoff, R., & Bruder, M. (2014). Speaking (un‐)truth to power: Conspiracy mentality as a generalised political attitude. European Journal of Personality, 28(1), 25–43. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.1930
Imhoff, R., Dieterle, L., Lamberty, P. (2020). Resolving the puzzle of conspiracy worldview and political activism: Belief in secret plots decreases normative but increases nonnormative political engagement. Social Psychological and Personality Science 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550619896491
Jolley D., Douglas K. M., Leite A. C., Schrader T. (2019). Belief in conspiracy theories and intentions to engage in everyday crime. British Journal of Social Psychology 58(3), 534-549. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12311
Jolley, D., Douglas, K. M. (2014). The social consequences of conspiracism: Exposure to conspiracy theories decreases intentions to engage in politics and to reduce one’s carbon footprint. British Journal of Psychology, 105, 35–56. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12018
Jolley, D., Meleady, R., & Douglas, K. M. (2020). Exposure to intergroup conspiracy theories promotes prejudice which spreads across groups. British Journal of Psychology, 111(1), 17–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12385
Kofta M., & Sedec G. (2005). Conspiracy Stereotypes of Jews During Systemic Transformation in Poland. International Journal of Sociology, 35(1), 40-64. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207659.2005.11043142
Kofta, M., Soral, W., & Bilewicz, M. (2020). What breeds conspiracy antisemitism? The role of political uncontrollability and uncertainty in the belief in Jewish conspiracy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 118(5), 900–918. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000183
Lantian, A., Muller, D., Nurra, C., & Douglas, K. M. (2017). “I know things they don’t know!”: The role of need for uniqueness in belief in conspiracy theories. Social Psychology, 48(3), 160–173. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000306
Leiser D, Duani N, Wagner-Egger P (2017) The conspiratorial style in lay economic thinking. PLoS ONE 12(3). e0171238. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0171238
Leman, P. J., & Cinnirella, M. (2007). A major event has a major cause: Evidence for the role of heuristics in reasoning about conspiracy theories. Social Psychological Review, 9, 18–28. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.2995
Lewandowsky, S., Gignac, G. E., & Vaughan, S. (2013). The pivotal role of perceived scientific consensus in acceptance of science. Nature Climate Change, 3(4), 399 404. https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE1720
Marinthe G., Brown G., Delouvée S. & Jolley. D. (2020). Looking out for myself: Exploring the relationship between conspiracy mentality, perceived personal risk, and COVID‐19 prevention measures. Health Psychology 25 (4), 957-980. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12449
Oliver J. E., & Wood T. J. (2014). Conspiracy Theories and the Paranoid Style(s) of Mass Opinion. American journal of political science, 58(4), 952-966. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12084
Parsons, S., Simmons, W., Shinhoster, F., & Kilburn, J. (1999). A test of the grapevine: An empirical examination of conspiracy theories among African Americans. Sociological Spectrum, 19(2), 201–222. https://doi.org/10.1080/027321799280235
Pishchik, V. І. (2014). Kross-kul'turnyye osobennosti konspirativistskoy mental'nosti [Cross-cultural features of the conspiratorial mentality]. Etnosotsium i mezhnatsional'naya kul'tura, 8(74), 69-77. [in Russian]
Pishchik, V.I. (2017). Vozmozhnost' izmereniya very v zagovory [Possibility of measuring faith in conspiracies]. European social science journal, 1, 419 424. [in Russian]
Plohl, N., & Musil, B. (2020). Modeling compliance with covid-19 prevention guidelines: The critical role of trust in science. Psychology, Health & Medicine. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2020.1772988
Stieger S., Gumhalter N., Tran U. S., Voracek M., Swami V. (2013). Girl in the cellar: a repeated cross-sectional investigation of belief in conspiracy theories about the kidnapping of Natascha Kampusch. Front. Psychol. 4, 297. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00297
Swami, V. & Barron, D. (2020). Analytic Thinking, Rejection of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Conspiracy Theories, and Compliance with Mandated Social-Distancing: Direct and Indirect Relationships in a Nationally Representative Sample of Adults in the United Kingdom. https://osf.io/ preprints/nmx9w/
Swami, V. (2012). Social psychological origins of conspiracy theories: The case of the Jewish conspiracy theory in Malaysia. Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00280
Uscinski J.E., Parent J.M. (2014). American Conspiracy Theories. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 240. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199351800.001.0001
Uscinski, J.E., Enders, A.M., Klofstad, C.A., Seelig, M.I., Funchion, J.R., Everett, C. ...& Manohar, N. (2020). Why do people believe COVID-19 conspiracy theories? The Harvard Kennedy School, Misinformation Review, 1.
Van Bavel, J., Baicker, K, Boggio, P. et al. (2020). Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response. Nature Human Behaviour 4, 460 471. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0884-z
Van der Linden, S. L. (2015). The conspiracy-effect: Exposure to conspiracy theories (about global warming) decreases pro-social behavior and science acceptance. Personality and Individual Differences 87, 171 173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.07.045
Van Prooijen, J.-W., & Douglas, K. M. (2017). Conspiracy theories as part of history: The role of societal crisis situations. Memory Studies, 10(3), 323–333. https://doi.org/0.1177/1750698017701615
Van Prooijen, J.-W., & Douglas, K. M. (2018). Belief in conspiracy theories: Basic principles of an emerging research domain. European Journal of Social Psychology, 48(7), 897–908. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2530
Van Prooijen, J.‐W., & Jostmann, N. B. (2013). Belief in conspiracy theories: The influence of uncertainty and perceived morality. European Journal of Social Psychology, 43(1), 109–115. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1922
Wallen, J. (2020, April). Indian hospitals refuse to admit Muslims as coronaviruscauses Islamophobia surge. The Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/19/indian-hospitals-refuse-admit-muslims-coronavirus-causes-islamophobia/
Whitson J. A., Galinsky A. D. (2008). Lacking Control Increases Illusory Pattern Perception. Science, 322(5898), 115-117. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1159845
Yarosh, N. (2020) Z̕ vyazok refleksyvnykh protsesiv osobystosti ta viry v teoriyu zmovy v umovakh pandemiyi COVID-19 [Сonnection of reflexive processes of personality and belief in the theory of conspiracy in the conditions of pandemic COVID-19]. Рsychological jornal, 6(5), 37-46. [in Ukraine]