According to a new study by the University of Mainz, there is a greater willingness to engage in illegal behavior

According to a study by the University of Mainz, conspiracies influence political engagement. Previous studies have produced mixed results regarding belief in conspiracies and political actions. Some studies have shown that people with a conspiracy-driven worldview are less politically active, while others have found the opposite result. Details were published in “Social Psychological and Personality Science”.

[mk_ad]

Violence as a result

According to the current study, belief in conspiracies leads to a greater willingness to engage in non-normative roles. It is more likely to be illegal, for example blocking a public entrance area, and avoiding more typical political engagement such as voting.

“If normal people accept the basic assumptions of a world full of conspiracies, then they come to the conclusion that violent means of political engagement are a plausible consequence,” says research leader Roland Imhoff

According to the researcher, these results, combined with observation, suggest that many radical and terrorist groups that use conspiracy theories in their leaflets have a worldview in which it is dominated by hidden and illegal forces, which is ultimately a driving force for radical violent actions. They appear justified. A non-violent approach seems futile, as the right-wing terrorist attack in Hanau clearly shows.

Two experiments

The scientists conducted two experiments. One in Germany with 194 people and a second in the USA with 402 Mturk employees. In both experiments, participants were asked to imagine living in a particular type of society. One part received a description that focused on conspiracies. A few powerful groups controlled the fate of millions of people. Other participants read an intermediate scenario in which people questioned whether the media and politicians could be trusted. Another group gained a worldview that the government and media were trustworthy and transparent.

[mk_ad]

Each person was then asked about political actions they would be willing to take. The spectrum ranges from normative actions such as voting, marches, contacting the media or politicians to non-normative actions such as destroying property, harming others and other illegal activities. In both studies, people who were confronted with a scenario that involved conspiracies were more likely to engage in non-normative behavior. Political actions in the normative domain were more common among those who encountered a conspiracy-poor scenario.

Source: pte
Article image: Shutterstock / By roibu


If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:

📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.

Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!

* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!


Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )