Search results for "conspiracy"

Too special to be duped: Need for uniqueness motivates conspiracy beliefs

2017

Adding to the growing literature on the antecedents of conspiracy beliefs, this paper argues that a small part in motivating the endorsement of such seemingly irrational beliefs is the desire to stick out from the crowd, the need for uniqueness. Across three studies, we establish a modest but robust association between the self-attributed need for uniqueness and a general conspirational mindset (conspiracy mentality) as well as the endorsement of specific conspiracy beliefs. Following up on previous findings that people high in need for uniqueness resist majority and yield to minority influence, Study 3 experimentally shows that a fictitious conspiracy theory received more support by people…

Spanish Adaptation of the Left-Wing Authoritarianism Index

2021

Notwithstanding long-simmering controversies around the construct, several studies have gathered consistent evidence of authoritarian attitudes among left-wing voters and activists. Recently, Costello et al. (Clarifying the structure and nature of left-wing authoritarianism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2021) validated, in the English-speaking context, a three-factor scale to measure left-wing authoritarianism, as well as two shortened versions of the same scale (Costello & Patrick, Development and initial validation of two brief measures of left-wing authoritarianism: A machine learning approach, 2021; composed of 39, 25 and 13 items, respectively). In this article, we use…

Does the platform matter? Social media and COVID-19 conspiracy theory beliefs in 17 countries

2021

While the role of social media in the spread of conspiracy theories has received much attention, a key deficit in previous research is the lack of distinction between different types of platforms. This study places the role of social media affordances in facilitating the spread of conspiracy beliefs at the center of its enquiry. We examine the relationship between platform use and conspiracy theory beliefs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Relying on the concept of technological affordances, we theorize that variation across key features make some platforms more fertile places for conspiracy beliefs than others. Using data from a crossnational dataset based on a two-wave online survey cond…

Believing in Hidden Plots is Associated with Decreased Behavioral Trust: Conspiracy Belief as Greater Sensitivity to Social Threat or Insensitivity T…

2022

Abstract Past research has demonstrated that conspiracy belief is linked to a low level of self-reported general trust. In four experimental online studies (total N = 1105) we examined whether this relationship translated into actual behavior. Specifically, since the decision to trust relies on the ability to detect potential social threat, we tested whether conspiracy believers are better at detecting actual threat, worse at detecting the absence of threat, or simply trust less, irrespective of any social cue. To this end, participants played multiple, independent rounds of the trust game, a behavioral measure for interpersonal trust. We manipulated social threat by presenting photographs …

A Uniform Conspiracy Mindset or Differentiated Reactions to Specific Conspiracy Beliefs? Evidence From Latent Profile Analyses

2021

Conspiracy theories arise for virtually any public event (e.g., pandemics, assassinations, disasters). In light of positively correlated endorsements of such beliefs, many have pointed to a more general mindset behind this. Others have argued against this notion of a consistent mindset. Applying Latent Profile Analyses, we examine the evidence for either uniform or differentiated response patterns to various items in five studies (reanalyzed datasets, total N = 7877). Overall, the results speak strongly to uniform reactions that could be summarized as a general mindset, but also revealed important qualifications. First, small parts of the samples show more differentiated patterns in relatio…

Recenti tendenze di riforma del reato di conspiracy: ai confini della responsabilità penale del diritto inglese

2009

W sieci (obrazów, intryg i spisków) - na marginesie literackiej reprezentacji XIX wieku w prozie "Dominový efekt" Václava Vokolka

2023

The subject of this article is an analysis of the representation of the nineteenth century in Václav Vokolek’s multithreaded prose work Dominový efekt. The work can be regarded as a specific continuation of the work Cesta do pekel, especially if the pictorial perspective and the conviction that humanity is in a network of secret organisations, conspiracies and, nowadays, various systems are regarded as common points. In this text, the focus is mainly on the reconstruction of the figure of Ernst Gustav Doerell, a 19th- century landscape painter of Northern Bohemia, whose paintings reflected the changes taking place in the natural landscape of the region. Using the historical prototype in par…

COVID-19 Related Conspiracy Beliefs and Their Relationship with Perceived Stress and Trust in Government

2021

Sazvērestības ticīgo vilnis ir izcēlies COVID-19 krīzes vidū. Šī pētījuma mērķis bija pārbaudīt individuālās atšķirības, kas saistītas ar COVID-19 konspirācijas teoriju uzskatu attīstību pandēmijas laikā. Kopumā 100 pieaugušie aizpildīja aptauju, kas aptvēra ar COVID-19 saistītus sazvērestības teorijas uzskatus, uztverto stresu un ticību valdībai , kā arī respondentu izglītības līmeni. Dati tika savākti kā tiešsaistes aptauja randomizētā izlasē. Tika izmantota tulkotā un adaptēta aptauja par COVID-19 konspirācijas teorijām, kas bija cirkulējuši medijos un sociālajos tīklos 2020. gada beigās un 2021. gada sākumā un ir zināmas Latvijas vispārējai populācijai. Tika izmantoti parametriski testi…

Conspiracy of silence and emotional distress in patients diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme

2012

Objetivo: En el ámbito de enfermedades muy graves y de mal pronóstico, continúa existiendo un importante porcentaje de familiares que, por motivos beneficentes y de protección, deciden ocultar la verdad a los enfermos que desean conocer lo que les ocurre. El objetivo es identificar la incidencia de conspiración de silencio familiar y su repercusión en los niveles de ansiedad y depresión del paciente diagnosticado de glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Método: Los niveles de ansiedad y depresión fueron recogidos en cinco momentos del proceso de enfermedad: ingreso, después de la comunicación del diagnóstico, en el alta hospitalaria, un mes después del alta y seis meses después del alta. Las neces…

Revised and short versions of the pseudoscientific belief scale

2021

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Fasce, A, Avendaño, D, Adrián‐Ventura, J. Revised and short versions of the pseudoscientific belief scale. Appl Cognit Psychol. 2021; 1– 5, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3811. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. In this article, we develop the revised and short versions of the pseudoscientific belief scale through two empirical studies (N = 4154). This revision is motivated by the excessive length of the scale, as well as by consistent observations of poor item loadings across several studies…