Conspiracy theory and cognitive style: a worldview

Frontiers in Psychology
Neil DagnallMegan Parton

Abstract

This paper assessed whether belief in conspiracy theories was associated with a particularly cognitive style (worldview). The sample comprised 223 volunteers recruited via convenience sampling and included undergraduates, postgraduates, university employees, and alumni. Respondents completed measures assessing a range of cognitive-perceptual factors (schizotypy, delusional ideation, and hallucination proneness) and conspiratorial beliefs (general attitudes toward conspiracist thinking and endorsement of individual conspiracies). Positive symptoms of schizotypy, particularly the cognitive-perceptual factor, correlated positively with conspiracist beliefs. The best predictor of belief in conspiracies was delusional ideation. Consistent with the notion of a coherent conspiratorial mindset, scores across conspiracy measures correlated strongly. Whilst findings supported the view that belief in conspiracies, within the sub-clinical population, was associated with a delusional thinking style, cognitive-perceptual factors in combination accounted for only 32% of the variance.

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Citations

Mar 4, 2017·PloS One·David LeiserPascal Wagner-Egger
Mar 20, 2020·PloS One·Kenneth Graham DrinkwaterNick Neave
Sep 19, 2017·PloS One·R Kelly Garrett, Brian E Weeks
May 2, 2019·Frontiers in Psychology·Neil DagnallAndrew Parker
Sep 14, 2018·Frontiers in Psychology·Kenneth DrinkwaterAndrew Parker
Jun 24, 2017·Frontiers in Psychology·Neil DagnallPeter J Clough
Mar 9, 2018·Frontiers in Psychology·Colin KleinVince Polito
Jul 1, 2020·Frontiers in Psychology·Neil DagnallJames Houran
Mar 28, 2019·Europe's Journal of Psychology·Petar LukićBiljana Stanković
Jun 5, 2021·Experimental and Clinical Transplantation : Official Journal of the Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation·Eleni OrfanoudakiDimitrios N Samonakis

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