Work

Belief strength and the attitudinal and behavioural correlates of conspiracy beliefs

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Even though conspiracy beliefs have been linked to behaviours such as vaccination and voting, the association is weak and heterogeneous. To shed light on this matter, we examined belief qualities associated with stronger correlations of beliefs with attitudes and behaviour. Across three studies-the first being pre-registered, two utilizing large, probability US samples and the last measuring behaviour prospectively-we analysed associations with prejudice (Study 1 N = 1959), vaccination behaviour (Study 2 N = 2572) and political behaviour (Study 3 N = 1551; total N = 6082). We found consistent evidence that conspiracy beliefs are linked to attitudes, and attitudes are related to behaviours. As hypothesized, this pathway is stronger when the beliefs are perceived as more certain or important, a tendency that is amplified when they are also perceived as more actionable. These findings have implications for addressing the most dangerous conspiracy beliefs and for understanding the belief-behaviour associations in other domains.

Source: British Journal of Social Psychology

DOI: 10.1111/bjso.70104

Authors: Javier A. Granados Samayoa, Dolores Albarracín

Institutions: Texas Christian University, University of Pennsylvania

Language: English

Topic: Misinformation and Its Impacts

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,970

Funders: National Institutes of Health, Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania