Creating Conspiracy Beliefs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dolores Albarracin ◽  
Julia Albarracin ◽  
Man-pui Sally Chan ◽  
Kathleen Hall Jamieson
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Ideological Bias ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Disciplinary Perspective ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
The Media ◽  
Information Sciences

Conspiracy theories spread more widely and faster than ever before. Fear and uncertainty prompt people to believe false narratives of danger and hidden plots, but are not sufficient without considering the role and ideological bias of the media. This timely book focuses on making sense of how and why some people respond to their fear of a threat by creating or believing conspiracy stories. It integrates insights from psychology, political science, communication, and information sciences to provide a complete overview and theory of how conspiracy beliefs manifest. Through this multi-disciplinary perspective, rigoros research develops and tests a practical, simple way to frame and understand conspiracy theories. The book supplies unprecedented amounts of new data from six empirical studies and unpicks the complexity of the process that leads to the empowerment of conspiracy beliefs.

The Truth Is Around Here Somewhere

2018 ◽  
pp. 269-282
Author(s):  
Preston R. Bost
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Inflection Point ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
Adaptive Cognition

Recent years have seen a sharp acceleration in the publication of empirical studies on conspiracy beliefs. Collectively this work demonstrates markers of an energized but exploratory field still seeking theoretical focus and depth. The research has arrived at an inflection point that will lead to increased expectations for theory-driven work that tests specific predictions and arrives at answers with the potential to improve public discourse about conspiracy theories. Three specific lines of research can advance our understanding of the place of conspiracy beliefs in adaptive cognition: clearly defining the phenomenon under investigation, exploring the situational factors that contribute to conspiracy beliefs, and testing the positive as well as negative outcomes that result from conspiracy beliefs.

scholarly journals Consideraciones sobre las teorías conspirativas aplicadas a las caravanas de migrantes

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Jesús Pérez Caballero
Keyword(s):  
Political Discourse ◽  
Conspiracy Theory ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
The Media ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The U.S

The main purpose of this article is to analyze the conspiracy theories that emerged to explain migrant caravans en route to the U.S. in October 2018. Through the doctrinal and documentary review of the main approaches to such theories, a political theological definition of conspiracy theory is proposed. Subsequently, the main newspaper sources that include conspiracy explanations about the caravan phenomenon are examined, comparing them with the characteristics studied, and the proposed definition. It is concluded that some states and non-state actors reacted with a political discourse that had conspiracy theories at its core. It was their way of making sense and exploiting in the media, a novel way of migrating because of its swarming features.

»Sometimes you just have to go in « – The link between conspiracy beliefs and political action

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pia Lamberty ◽  
David Leiser
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
Violent Action ◽  
One Year

Even though conspiracy theories often address political issues, the question of how conspiracy beliefs affect people's political action has not been satisfyingly answered. We show how conspiracy beliefs are linked to political action. Study 1 (N = 203) shows that conspiracy beliefs were linked to violence. Study 2 (N = 268) supported the notion that conspiracy beliefs were linked to weaker support for normative actions and stronger support of violent action. In Study 3 (N = 180), we explored experimentally whether conspiracy beliefs increase violent action. The longitudinal Study 4 (N T1 = 523, N T2 = 274, N T3 = 199) showed over a timespan of one year that conspiracy beliefs increased non-normative political action.

Sociological Analysis of Attitudes of Professional Growth and Career in the Context of Digital Economy and Knowledge Society

2020 ◽  
pp. 12-24
Author(s):  
O. Ya. Gelikh ◽  
A. N. Levitskaya ◽  
N. N. Pokrovskaia
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Professional Community ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Sociological Analysis ◽  
Working Age ◽  
The Media

A sociological analysis of the factors of integration of young generations into active economic life is based on a study of the values of young people in relation to employment and professional growth. The information society has two key parameters that influence the construction of the trajectory of educational, professional, labor or entrepreneurial activity — the significant role of knowledge in creating value and the digital space as a source of information and the place for individuals to fulfill themselves in society and the social and professional community. A theoretical analysis of labor socialization allows researchers to move on to the results of empirical studies carried out with the participation of authors in 2017 and 2019-2020. The data obtained are evaluative in nature and allow authors to draw conclusions about the influence of the media space on young people entering working age taking decisions on choosing a profession and a form of economic activity, planning employment and career growth.

‘Things are not what they seem to be’: A proposal for the spectrum approach to conspiracy beliefs

2021 ◽  
pp. 103985622110081
Author(s):  
Vladan Starcevic ◽  
Vlasios Brakoulias
Keyword(s):  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Persecutory Delusions ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Community Or ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs

Objective: Conspiracy beliefs (also known as conspiracy theories) become more prominent at times of heightened uncertainty and inconsistent or conflicting explanations provided by the authorities for events like terrorist attacks or pandemics, such as COVID-19. This article aims to examine the relevance of conspiracy beliefs for psychiatry in the context of the dynamics of trust and mistrust. Conclusions: Conspiracy beliefs may be situated on a spectrum of mistrust-related phenomena, which extends from healthy scepticism to persecutory delusions. They can be conceptualised as unfounded and fixed beliefs held with strong conviction about harm inflicted by powerful groups on the community or another group of people, usually with preserved insight that these beliefs differ from those that most people have and with reasons for having such beliefs not necessarily being implausible. It is important for conspiracy beliefs to be distinguished from persecutory 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.

scholarly journals Perception of Gamblers: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Wöhr ◽  
Marius Wuketich
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Gambling Problems ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Strong Focus ◽  
The Media ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Psychological Knowledge

AbstractIt is generally assumed that gamblers, and particularly people with gambling problems (PG), are affected by negative perception and stigmatisation. However, a systematic review of empirical studies investigating the perception of gamblers has not yet been carried out. This article therefore summarises empirical evidence on the perception of gamblers and provides directions for future research. A systematic literature review based on the relevant guidelines was carried out searching three databases. The databases Scopus, PubMed and BASE were used to cover social scientific knowledge, medical-psychological knowledge and grey literature. A total of 48 studies from 37 literature references was found. The perspective in these studies varies: Several studies focus on the perception of gamblers by the general population, by subpopulations (e. g. students or social workers), or by gamblers on themselves. The perspective on recreational gamblers is hardly an issue. A strong focus on persons with gambling problems is symptomatic of the gambling discourse. The analysis of the studies shows that gambling problems are thought to be rather concealable, whereas the negative effects on the concerned persons‘ lives are rated to be quite substantial. PG are described as “irresponsible” and “greedy” while they perceive themselves as “stupid” or “weak”. Only few examples of open discrimination are mentioned. Several studies however put emphasis on the stereotypical way in which PG are portrayed in the media, thus contributing to stigmatisation. Knowledge gaps include insights from longitudinal studies, the influence of respondents‘ age, culture and sex on their views, the relevance of the type of gambling a person is addicted to, and others. Further studies in these fields are needed.

scholarly journals The Denouncers: Populism and the Press in Venezuela

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT SAMET
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Everyday Practices ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Recent Attention

AbstractDespite recent attention to the relationship between the media and populist mobilisation in Latin America, there is a misfit between the everyday practices of journalists and the theoretical tools that we have for making sense of these practices. The objective of this article is to help reorient research on populism and the press in Latin America so that it better reflects the grounded practices and autochthonous norms of the region. To that end, I turn to the case of Venezuela, and a practice that has been largely escaped attention from scholars – the use of denuncias.

scholarly journals Conspiracy Theories and Their Societal Effects During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 194855062110002
Author(s):  
Lotte Pummerer ◽  
Robert Böhm ◽  
Lau Lilleholt ◽  
Kevin Winter ◽  
Ingo Zettler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Random Sample ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Conspiracy Theory ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Institutional Trust ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
The Media ◽  
And Behavior

During COVID-19, conspiracy theories were intensely discussed in the media. Generally, both believing in conspiracy theories (i.e., explanations for events based on powerholders’ secret arrangements) and being confronted with a conspiracy theory have been found to predict cognition and behavior with negative societal effects, such as low institutional trust. Accordingly, believing in conspiracy theories around COVID-19 should reduce institutional trust, support of governmental regulations and their adoption, and social engagement (e.g., helping members of risk groups). We tested these predictions in a national random sample survey, an experiment, and a longitudinal study ( N total = 1,213; all studies were preregistered). Indeed, believing in and being confronted with a COVID-19 conspiracy theory decreased institutional trust, support of governmental regulations, adoption of physical distancing, and—to some extent—social engagement. Findings underscore the severe societal effects of conspiracy theories in the context of COVID-19.

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