Exploratory Research on Predictors of Conspiracy Theory Beliefs in College Students
Location
Culp Center Ballroom
Start Date
4-25-2023 9:00 AM
End Date
4-25-2023 11:00 AM
Poster Number
151
Faculty Sponsor’s Department
Psychology
Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor
Ginette Blackhart
Competition Type
Competitive
Type
Poster Presentation
Project's Category
Psychology
Abstract or Artist's Statement
Conspiracy theory beliefs have become ubiquitous within our society. One cannot partake in any form of media without confronting different conspiracy theories, such as beliefs that the Earth is flat, that birds are not real, that the moon landing was fake, or that vaccines cause autism spectrum disorder. Conspiracy theories are beliefs that revolve around false explanations of public and political events concerning a secret organization with malicious intent. What makes people vulnerable to conspiracy theory beliefs? Prior research indicates that people often adopt conspiracy beliefs in an attempt to reduce feelings of anxiety, uncertainty, and threat. Unfortunately, prior research also suggests that conspiracy theory beliefs might not relieve these negative emotional states. As a result, one might conclude that conspiracy theory beliefs are misguided attempts to regulate one’s emotional state during times of anxiety and uncertainty.
The goal for the current research was to gain a greater understanding of who may be more susceptible to conspiracy theory beliefs. As prior research has shown that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) often predict poorer emotion regulation, we wanted to explore whether ACEs may predict conspiracy theory beliefs as explained through emotion dysregulation. In this exploratory research, we recruited 719 participants online through Sona at East Tennessee State University (Mage= 19.98) and asked participants to complete two scales to measure conspiracy theory beliefs, the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale (GCB) and the Conspiracy Mentality Scale (CM), as well as self-report measures of ACEs and emotion dysregulation.
Results showed that ACEs did not directly predict conspiracy theory beliefs; however, when emotional dysregulation was included as a mediator, ACEs predicted conspiracy theory beliefs on both GCB and CM scales. This suggests that people who indicated experiencing more ACEs within the first 18 years of life tended to score higher in emotion dysregulation and will have more difficulty regulating their own emotions when it comes to social and environmental problems. Because of this, individuals who experienced more ACEs may rely on external factors and maladaptive coping strategies, such as conspiracy theory beliefs, to regulate their negative emotional states. Although ACE scores were not a direct determining factor in conspiracy theory beliefs, they can be used to reveal and better understand other maladaptive traits and the possibility of developing psychological disorders in the future. As this research was exploratory, future research will need to confirm these findings, ideally with a more diverse sample in age, race and educational background. Despite these limitations, the current study aids in our understanding about who may be more susceptible to engaging in conspiracy theory beliefs and can inform about possible interventions in the future.
Exploratory Research on Predictors of Conspiracy Theory Beliefs in College Students
Culp Center Ballroom
Conspiracy theory beliefs have become ubiquitous within our society. One cannot partake in any form of media without confronting different conspiracy theories, such as beliefs that the Earth is flat, that birds are not real, that the moon landing was fake, or that vaccines cause autism spectrum disorder. Conspiracy theories are beliefs that revolve around false explanations of public and political events concerning a secret organization with malicious intent. What makes people vulnerable to conspiracy theory beliefs? Prior research indicates that people often adopt conspiracy beliefs in an attempt to reduce feelings of anxiety, uncertainty, and threat. Unfortunately, prior research also suggests that conspiracy theory beliefs might not relieve these negative emotional states. As a result, one might conclude that conspiracy theory beliefs are misguided attempts to regulate one’s emotional state during times of anxiety and uncertainty.
The goal for the current research was to gain a greater understanding of who may be more susceptible to conspiracy theory beliefs. As prior research has shown that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) often predict poorer emotion regulation, we wanted to explore whether ACEs may predict conspiracy theory beliefs as explained through emotion dysregulation. In this exploratory research, we recruited 719 participants online through Sona at East Tennessee State University (Mage= 19.98) and asked participants to complete two scales to measure conspiracy theory beliefs, the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale (GCB) and the Conspiracy Mentality Scale (CM), as well as self-report measures of ACEs and emotion dysregulation.
Results showed that ACEs did not directly predict conspiracy theory beliefs; however, when emotional dysregulation was included as a mediator, ACEs predicted conspiracy theory beliefs on both GCB and CM scales. This suggests that people who indicated experiencing more ACEs within the first 18 years of life tended to score higher in emotion dysregulation and will have more difficulty regulating their own emotions when it comes to social and environmental problems. Because of this, individuals who experienced more ACEs may rely on external factors and maladaptive coping strategies, such as conspiracy theory beliefs, to regulate their negative emotional states. Although ACE scores were not a direct determining factor in conspiracy theory beliefs, they can be used to reveal and better understand other maladaptive traits and the possibility of developing psychological disorders in the future. As this research was exploratory, future research will need to confirm these findings, ideally with a more diverse sample in age, race and educational background. Despite these limitations, the current study aids in our understanding about who may be more susceptible to engaging in conspiracy theory beliefs and can inform about possible interventions in the future.