A study published in Political Psychology—now there's a name for a journal—found that authoritarian people are "primed" for conspiracy beliefs. Bearing in mind that not all conspiracy theories are false, a "rich literature" of research connects such beliefs to stable personality traits and psychological needs. But what comes first: the authoritarianism or the conspiracism?
There are widespread concerns that conspiracy theories undermine democracies. But do conspiracy beliefs increase criticism of democracy and/or support for authoritarianism? Or are antidemocratic people more likely to endorse conspiracy beliefs? To answer these important questions, we collected longitudinal data during two concurrent democratic elections—the 2020 US Presidential Election (N = 609) and the 2020 General Election in New Zealand (N = 603). Random intercept cross-lagged panel models tested whether conspiracy beliefs affect criticism of democracy in general, as well as support for authoritarianism, and both direct and representative democracy, specifically. There was little evidence that conspiracy beliefs temporally preceded changes in attitudes toward democracy or support for any specific form of government. Instead, people who supported authoritarianism more subsequently endorsed stronger conspiracy beliefs. The results suggested that, in the context of electoral contests (e.g., elections), antidemocratic people are more likely to endorse conspiracy beliefs rather than conspiracy beliefs fostering antidemocratic views.
The key finding is that authoritarianism precedes belief in conspiracy theories, not the other way around.
In the United States, the study found no strong evidence that belief in election conspiracy theories led to later increases in criticism of democracy or support for authoritarianism. Instead, the results suggested the opposite pattern: individuals who showed increased support for authoritarian government were more likely to adopt conspiracy beliefs later on.
Say hi to the usual suspects…
Participants answered questions measuring their belief in election-related conspiracy theories, such as whether mail-in ballots were being tampered with or whether powerful elites were influencing the outcome. They also rated their general trust in democracy and their support for different forms of government, including representative democracy, direct democracy, and authoritarianism.
Previously:
• How to cure people afflicted with conspiracy theories
• How conspiracy theories challenge Snopes' mission to find the 'truth'
• Conspiracy theorists aren't crazy
• How come so many Christians fall for conspiracy theories?
