6533b7d6fe1ef96bd1266636

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Do as the Romans do: On the authoritarian roots of pseudoscience

Jesús Adrián-venturaAngelo FasceDiego Avendaño

subject

Conventionalismmedia_common.quotation_subject050109 social psychologyAuthoritarianism050105 experimental psychologyPromotion (rank)Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)social axiomsPolitical scienceDevelopmental and Educational PsychologyHumans0501 psychology and cognitive sciencesRelation (history of concept)media_commonconventionalismsubmissionCommunicationpseudosciencePolitics05 social sciencesAuthoritarianismPseudosciencePseudoscienceGroup dynamicEpistemologyauthoritarianismAttitude

description

Recent research highlights the implications of group dynamics in the acceptance and promotion of misconceptions, particularly in relation to the identity-protective attitudes that boost polarisation over scientific information. In this study, we successfully test a mediational model between right-wing authoritarianism and pseudoscientific beliefs. First, we carry out a comprehensive literature review on the socio-political background of pseudoscientific beliefs. Second, we conduct two studies (n=1189 and n=1097) to confirm our working hypotheses: H1 – intercorrelation between pseudoscientific beliefs, authoritarianism and three axioms (reward for application, religiosity and fate control); H2 – authoritarianism and social axioms fully explain rightists’ proneness to pseudoscience; and H3 – the association between pseudoscience and authoritarianism is partially mediated by social axioms. Finally, we discuss our results in relation to their external validity regarding paranormal and conspiracy beliefs, as well as to their implications for group polarisation and science communication.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662520935078