Are conspiracy beliefs a sign of flawed cognition? Reexamining the association of cognitive style and skills with conspiracy beliefs
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Throughout human history, political leaders, oppositional forces, and businesspeople have frequently coordinated in secret for their own benefit and the public’s disadvantage. In these cases, conspiracy theories are capable of accurately describing our environment. However, the vast majority of research today operationalizes conspiracy theories as irrational beliefs that contradict our everyday knowledge. It is not surprising, then, that belief in implausible conspiracy theories has been associated with suboptimal information processing. To get a richer understanding of the phenomenon, we argue that researchers should have this limitation in mind when designing future studies.
DOI: 10.37016/mr-2020-168
Authors: Roland Imhoff, Tisa Bertlich
Institution: Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4405232702