Certain personality traits and people's current life situations are relevant
People with certain personality traits and cognitive approaches are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories than others. This is the conclusion reached by psychologist Josh Hart from Union College . He has now investigated what makes even the most absurd theories so attractive to people. The results were published in the “Journal of Individual Differences”.
“These people tend to be more suspicious, low in trust, eccentric, and see the world as an inherently dangerous place,”
so hard. They also tended to recognize patterns with meaning where they probably don't exist. People who tend not to believe in conspiracy theories have the exact opposite characteristics.
1,200 Americans surveyed
Together with student Molly Graether, Hart surveyed more than 1,200 American adults. Participants were asked a series of questions about their personality traits, party political interests and demographic background. Questions included, for example: “The power held by heads of state is less than that of small, unknown groups that really control world politics” or “Groups of scientists manipulate, fabricate or suppress evidence to deceive the public “.
Previous studies have shown that people tend to believe in conspiracy theories that confirm or validate their political views. Republicans, for example, are much more likely than Democrats to believe that former US President Barack Obama was not born in the US or that climate change is a hoax. Democrats, on the other hand, are more willing to believe that Donald Trump has made common cause with the Russians, explains Hart.
Some people are also notorious conspiracy theorists, adhering to a whole range of theories. For example, they assume that world politics is controlled by intrigue rather than governments, or that researchers systematically deceive the public. These results suggest that personality or other individual characteristics may play a role.
Constellation causes schizotypy
Hart and Graether wanted to build on this research and test how many of the characteristics previously identified explain typical belief in conspiracies. By examining numerous characteristics at the same time, the two were able to filter out those that proved to be the most important.
“Our results clearly show that the strongest predictor of belief in conspiracies is a constellation of character traits commonly referred to as schizotypy.”
Although this term refers to schizophrenia, it does not contain a clinical diagnosis. Hart's study also shows that conspiracy theorists have strong cognitive biases: They were more likely than other people to view nonsensical explanations as well-founded. This group of people was also more likely to say that objects like triangles moving across the screen were acting intentionally. “In other words, they derived meaning and motive where other people did not.”
What's crucial, according to Hart, is that conspiracy theories differ from other worldviews in that they are fundamentally dark. This distinguishes them from the positive messages, for example in religions or in the area of spirituality.
“If a person sees the world as a chaotic and treacherous environment full of senseless injustice and suffering, then perhaps a small amount of comfort can be found in the idea that an individual or a small group of people is responsible for it.”
the study concludes.
Preview image: Shutterstock / HomeArt
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