The goal of the implied network-the conspiracist actors-is to intentionally deceive and manipulate those involved in, affected by, or witnessing important events, such as war, natural disasters, poverty, and acts of terrorism ( Basham, 2003 Stieger et al., 2013). This article provides an overview of instrumentation, study designs, and current state of knowledge in an effort toward advancement and consensus in the study of conspiracy beliefs.Ĭonspiracy beliefs are usually described as beliefs in the existence of a “vast, insidious, preternaturally effective international conspiratorial network designed to perpetrate acts of most fiendish character” ( Hofstadter, 1966, p. Considerable heterogeneity in designs and operationalization characterizes the field. Meta-analysis revealed that agreeableness, openness to experience, and the remaining Big Five personality factors were not significantly associated with conspiracy beliefs if effect sizes are aggregated.
Generally, there is a lack of theoretical frameworks in this young area of research. The psychological literature on predictors of conspiracy beliefs can be divided in approaches either with a pathological (e.g., paranoia) or socio-political focus (e.g., perceived powerlessness). For meta-analysis, 74 effect sizes from 13 studies were extracted.
A comprehensive account of predictors, consequences, operationalization, questionnaires, and most prominent conspiracy theories is presented. Ninety-six studies were identified for the systematic review. Additionally, the association between Big Five personality factors and conspiracy beliefs is analyzed meta-analytically using random-effects models. The present study reviews the literature of psychological studies investigating conspiracy beliefs. The association between agreeableness, openness to experience and conspiracy beliefs remains unclear in the literature. A considerable number of variables have been suggested as predictors of conspiracy beliefs, amongst them personality factors such as low agreeableness (as disagreeableness is associated with suspicion and antagonism) and high openness to experience (due to its positive association to seek out unusual and novel ideas).
In the last decade, the number of investigations of the beliefs in conspiracy theories has begun to increase in the fields of social, differential, and experimental psychology.
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