The results of the research study paint a nuanced photo of what drives conspiracy theorists, according to lead author Shauna Bowes, a doctoral student in medical psychology at Emory University.
” Conspiracy theorists are not all likely to be arrested, psychologically unhealthy folks– a picture which is consistently painted in pop culture,” said Bowes. “Instead, many turn to conspiracy theories to satisfy denied inspirational requirements and make sense of distress and disability.”
The research study was released online in the journal Psychological Bulletin.
Previous research study on what drives conspiracy theorists had actually mainly looked individually at personality and inspiration, according to Bowes. The existing research study aimed to examine these aspects together to reach a more unified account of why people believe in conspiracy theories.
To do so, the scientists evaluated data from 170 studies including over 158,000 individuals, mainly from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Poland. They concentrated on research studies that measured individuals motivations or personality type associated with conspiratorial thinking.
The researchers discovered that general, individuals were motivated to think in conspiracy theories by a need to understand and feel safe in their environment and a requirement to seem like the community they relate to is exceptional to others.
Even though lots of conspiracy theories seem to offer clarity or an expected secret fact about complicated events, a requirement for closure or a sense of control were not the strongest motivators to endorse conspiracy theories. Rather, the scientists found some evidence that individuals were most likely to believe specific conspiracy theories when they were encouraged by social relationships. For circumstances, individuals who perceived social risks were most likely to think in events-based conspiracy theories, such as the theory that the U.S. federal government planned the September 11 terrorist attacks, instead of an abstract theory that, in basic, governments prepare to harm their citizens to maintain power.
” These results mainly map onto a current theoretical structure advancing that social identity intentions may trigger being drawn to the material of a conspiracy theory, whereas people who are motivated by a desire to feel distinct are more likely to think in basic conspiracy theories about how the world works,” according to Bowes.
The scientists likewise found that individuals with particular character qualities, such as a sense of antagonism towards others and high levels of fear, were more susceptible to believe conspiracy theories. Those who highly believed in conspiracy theories were also more most likely to be insecure, paranoid, emotionally unpredictable, spontaneous, suspicious, withdrawn, manipulative, egocentric, and eccentric.
The Big Five personality type (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and neuroticism) had a much weaker relationship with conspiratorial thinking, though the scientists stated that does not suggest that general personality characteristics are irrelevant to a tendency to think in conspiracy theories.
Bowes said that future research must be performed with an awareness that conspiratorial thinking is made complex, and that there are important and diverse variables that ought to be checked out in the relations amongst conspiratorial thinking, inspiration and character to comprehend the general psychology behind conspiratorial ideas.
Recommendation: “The conspiratorial mind: A meta-analytic review of personological and motivational correlates” by Shauna M. Bowes, Thomas H. Costello and Arber Tasimi, June 2023, Psychological Bulletin.DOI: 10.1037/ bul0000392.
A study released by the American Psychological Association in the Psychological Bulletin reveals that conspiracy theories are commonly believed by individuals who possess specific character traits and inspirations. Even though many conspiracy theories seem to provide clarity or a supposed secret truth about complicated occasions, a requirement for closure or a sense of control were not the strongest motivators to endorse conspiracy theories. Rather, the researchers found some evidence that individuals were more likely to believe particular conspiracy theories when they were motivated by social relationships. Individuals who viewed social hazards were more most likely to think in events-based conspiracy theories, such as the theory that the U.S. federal government planned the September 11 terrorist attacks, rather than an abstract theory that, in basic, governments prepare to harm their residents to keep power.
A study released by the American Psychological Association in the Psychological Bulletin exposes that conspiracy theories are frequently believed by people who possess particular characteristic and motivations. The research discovered that people with qualities such as antagonism and paranoia, and those who feel superior to others, tend to be drawn to such theories. Contrary to common belief, the need for closure or a sense of control were not the greatest motivators; rather, people were most likely to think in specific conspiracy theories when motivated by social relationships.
People endorse conspiracy theories due to complex mix of character characteristics, inspirations.
A brand-new research study recommends that belief in conspiracy theories is driven by particular personality type and social motivations. People who feel superior to others, show paranoia or antagonism, or perceive social risks, are most likely to believe in such theories, while a need for control or closure does not have as strong an impact.
Individuals can be prone to think in conspiracy theories due to a mix of character characteristics and motivations, consisting of relying highly on their intuition, feeling a sense of antagonism and supremacy toward others, and viewing threats in their environment, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.