Examining the Relationship Between Conspiracy Theories, Paranormal Beliefs, and Pseudoscience Acceptance Among a University Population

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 617-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilio Lobato ◽  
Jorge Mendoza ◽  
Valerie Sims ◽  
Matthew Chin
Keyword(s):  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Paranormal Beliefs ◽  
University Population ◽  
The Relationship

scholarly journals Of Tinfoil Hats and Thinking Caps: Reasoning is more strongly related to Implausible than Plausible Conspiracy Beliefs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Hattersley ◽  
Gordon Brown ◽  
John Michael ◽  
Elliot Andrew Ludvig
Keyword(s):  
Sense Making ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Reflective Reasoning ◽  
Paranormal Beliefs ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
Information Sampling ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Moon Landing ◽  
Foraging Task ◽  
The Relationship

People who strongly endorse conspiracy theories typically exhibit biases in domain-general reasoning. Previous studies, however, have mostly focused on less plausible conspiracy theories (e.g., the moon landing was faked), rather than more plausible ones (e.g., the Russian Federation orchestrated the attack on Sergei Skripal). Here we examine whether reasoning biases are associated with belief in all conspiracy theories or only with belief in less plausible conspiracy theories. In two pre-registered studies, we found that endorsement of implausible conspiracy theories, but not plausible ones, was associated with reduced information sampling in an information-foraging task and with less reflective reasoning. Thus, the relationship between belief in conspiracy theories and reasoning is not homogeneous, and reasoning is not linked specifically to the “conspiracy” in conspiracy theories, but to other factors (e.g., motivations towards sense making) that feature in many types of implausible belief (e.g., paranormal beliefs, delusions).

scholarly journals The dangers of blind trust: Examining the interplay among social media news use, misinformation identification, and news trust on conspiracy beliefs

2021 ◽  
pp. 096366252199802
Author(s):  
Xizhu Xiao ◽  
Porismita Borah ◽  
Yan Su
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
News Consumption ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
Moderation Model ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Significant Moderator ◽  
News Use

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation has been circulating on social media and multiple conspiracy theories have since become quite popular. We conducted a U.S. national survey for three main purposes. First, we aim to examine the association between social media news consumption and conspiracy beliefs specific to COVID-19 and general conspiracy beliefs. Second, we investigate the influence of an important moderator, social media news trust, that has been overlooked in prior studies. Third, we further propose a moderated moderation model by including misinformation identification. Our findings show that social media news use was associated with higher conspiracy beliefs, and trust in social media news was found to be a significant moderator of the relationship between social media news use and conspiracy beliefs. Moreover, our findings show that misinformation identification moderated the relationship between social media news use and trust. Implications are discussed.

Are misinformation, antiscientific claims, and conspiracy theories for political extremists?

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-605
Author(s):  
Adam M. Enders ◽  
Joseph E. Uscinski
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Political Orientations ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
Political Left ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Political Groups ◽  
Representative Samples

Extremist political groups, especially “extreme” Republicans and conservatives, are increasingly charged with believing misinformation, antiscientific claims, and conspiracy theories to a greater extent than moderates and those on the political left by both a burgeoning scholarly literature and popular press accounts. However, previous investigations of the relationship between political orientations and alternative beliefs have been limited in their operationalization of those beliefs and political extremity. We build on existing literature by examining the relationships between partisan and nonpartisan conspiracy beliefs and symbolic and operational forms of political extremity. Using two large, nationally representative samples of Americans, we find that ideological extremity predicts alternative beliefs only when the beliefs in question are partisan in nature and the measure of ideology is identity-based. Moreover, we find that operational ideological extremism is negatively related to nonpartisan conspiracy beliefs. Our findings help reconcile discrepant findings regarding the relationship between political orientations and conspiracy beliefs.

Relation of Tolerance of Ambiguity to Global and Specific Paranormal Experience

1998 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 807-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Houran ◽  
Carl Williams
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Negative Relation ◽  
Tolerance Of Ambiguity ◽  
Paranormal Beliefs ◽  
Internal Experience ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Paranormal Experience

We examined the relationship of tolerance of ambiguity to severe global factors and specific types of anomalous or paranormal experience. 107 undergraduate students completed MacDonald's 1970 AT-20 and the Anomalous Experiences Inventory of Kumar, Pekala, and Gallagher. Scores on the five subscales of the Anomalous Experiences Inventory correlated differently with tolerance of ambiguity. Global paranormal beliefs, abilities, experiences, and drug use were positively associated with tolerance of ambiguity, whereas a fear of paranormal experience showed a negative relation. The specific types of anomalous experiences that correlated with tolerance of ambiguity often involved internal or physiological experience, e.g., precognitive dreams, memories of reincarnation, visual apparitions, and vestibular alterations. We generally found no effects of age or sex. These results are consistent with the idea that some paranormal experiences are misattributions of internal experience to external (‘paranormal’) sources, a process analogous to mechanisms underpinning delusions and hallucinations.

scholarly journals Is It All a Conspiracy? Conspiracy Theories and People’s Attitude to COVID-19 Vaccination

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng Yang ◽  
Xi Luo ◽  
Hepeng Jia
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Pharmaceutical Companies ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
Quota Sampling ◽  
To Receive ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Vaccination Hesitancy

A large body of research has found that people’s beliefs in conspiracy theories about infectious diseases negatively impacts their health behaviors concerning vaccination. Conspiracy belief-based vaccination hesitancy has become more rampant after the global outbreak of COVID-19. However, some important questions remain unanswered. For instance, do different versions of conspiracy theories—particularly conspiracy theories about the origin of the epidemic (e.g., that the SARS-CoV-2 leaked from a Wuhan virology laboratory or that the virus was of foreign origin) and the general theories about vaccine conspiracies (e.g., pharmaceutical companies covered up the danger of vaccines or people are being deceived about the effectiveness of vaccines)—have the same effect on vaccination intentions? Through a national survey adopting quota sampling in China, the current study tested the relationship between people’s conspiracy beliefs and their intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. The findings show that people’s embrace of conspiracy theories did indeed affect their intention to take COVID-19 shots. However, only conspiracy theories related to vaccines had a significant impact, while belief in more general theories about COVID-19 did not significantly affect vaccination intentions. People’s knowledge of vaccines (vaccine literacy) played an important role in this relationship. People with lower beliefs in vaccines conspiracy theories and higher levels of vaccine literacy were more likely to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

scholarly journals Fake news and unfunded beliefs in the post-truth age

Universitas ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 87-108
Author(s):  
Víctor Castillo-Riquelme ◽  
Patricio Hermosilla-Urrea ◽  
Juan P. Poblete-Tiznado ◽  
Christian Durán-Anabalón
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Male Gender ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
The Social ◽  
Paranormal Beliefs ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Relationship

The dissemination of fake news embodies a pressing problem for democracy that is exacerbated by theubiquity of information available on the Internet and by the exploitation of those who, appealing to theemotionality of audiences, have capitalized on the injection of falsehoods into the social fabric. In thisstudy, through a cross-sectional, correlational and non-experimental design, the relationship betweencredibility in the face of fake news and some types of dysfunctional thoughts was explored in a sampleof Chilean university students. The results reveal that greater credibility in fake news is associated withhigher scores of magical, esoteric and naively optimistic thinking, beliefs that would be the meetingpoint for a series of cognitive biases that operate in the processing of information. The highest correlationis found with the paranormal beliefs facet and, particularly, with ideas about the laws of mentalattraction, telepathy and clairvoyance. Significant differences were also found in credibility in fake newsas a function of the gender of the participants, with the female gender scoring higher on average thanthe male gender. These findings highlight the need to promote critical thinking, skepticism and scientificattitude in all segments of society.

scholarly journals Of lizards and ideological entrepreneurs: Alex Jones and Infowars in the relationship between populist nationalism and the post-global media ecology

2019 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-59
Author(s):  
H Van den Bulck ◽  
A Hyzen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Popular Culture ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Media Ecology ◽  
Global Media ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Political Alliances ◽  
The Relationship

This contribution analyses the nexus between contemporary US populist nationalism and the post-global media ecology through the case of US radio show host and ‘most paranoid man in America’ Alex Jones and his Infowars. It evaluates the role of Alt Right alternative/activist media and global digital platforms in the success of Jones as ideological entrepreneur. To this end, it looks at Jones’ and Infowars' message (mostly Falls Flag conspiracy theories and pseudo-science-meets-popular-culture fantasy), persona as celebrity populist spectacle, business model, political alliances with Alt Right and Trump, audience as diverse mix of believers and ironic spectators and, most of all, media. In particular, we analyse the mix of legacy and social media and their respective role in his rise and alleged downfall. We evaluate Jones’ efforts as effective ideological entrepreneur, pushing his counter-hegemonic ideology from the fringes to the mainstream.

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