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Conspiracy Endorsement as Motivated Reasoning: The Moderating Roles of Political Knowledge and Trust

Author

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  • Joanne M. Miller
  • Kyle L. Saunders
  • Christina E. Farhart

Abstract

Given the potential political and social significance of conspiracy beliefs, a substantial and growing body of work examines the individual‐level correlates of belief in conspiracy theories and general conspiratorial predispositions. However, although we know much about the psychological antecedents of conspiracy endorsement, we know less about the individual‐level political causes of these prevalent and consequential beliefs. Our work draws from the extant literature to posit that endorsement of conspiracy theories is a motivated process that serves both ideological and psychological needs. In doing so, we develop a theory that identifies a particular type of person—one who is both highly knowledgeable about politics and lacking in trust—who is most susceptible to ideologically motivated conspiracy endorsement. Further, we demonstrate that the moderators of belief in conspiracy theories are strikingly different for conservatives and liberals.

Suggested Citation

  • Joanne M. Miller & Kyle L. Saunders & Christina E. Farhart, 2016. "Conspiracy Endorsement as Motivated Reasoning: The Moderating Roles of Political Knowledge and Trust," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 60(4), pages 824-844, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:amposc:v:60:y:2016:i:4:p:824-844
    DOI: 10.1111/ajps.12234
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    Cited by:

    1. Casey A. Klofstad & Joseph E. Uscinski & Jennifer M. Connolly & Jonathan P. West, 2019. "What drives people to believe in Zika conspiracy theories?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Erik Peterson & Shanto Iyengar, 2021. "Partisan Gaps in Political Information and Information‐Seeking Behavior: Motivated Reasoning or Cheerleading?," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(1), pages 133-147, January.
    3. Bernd Schlipphak & Mujtaba Isani & Mitja D. Back, 2022. "Conspiracy Theory Beliefs and Political Trust: The Moderating Role of Political Communication," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(4), pages 157-167.
    4. Michael Hannon, 2022. "Are knowledgeable voters better voters?," Politics, Philosophy & Economics, , vol. 21(1), pages 29-54, February.
    5. Laura Colautti & Alice Cancer & Sara Magenes & Alessandro Antonietti & Paola Iannello, 2022. "Risk-Perception Change Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine’s Side Effects: The Role of Individual Differences," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-14, January.
    6. Jaesun Wang & Seoyong Kim, 2021. "The Paradox of Conspiracy Theory: The Positive Impact of Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories on Preventive Actions and Vaccination Intentions during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-27, November.
    7. Motta, Matt & Benegal, Salil D, 2022. "How Pandemic-Related Changes in Global Attitudes Toward the Scientific Community Shape “Post-Pandemic” Environmental Opinion," SocArXiv v9egn, Center for Open Science.
    8. Seoyong Kim & Sunhee Kim, 2020. "Searching for General Model of Conspiracy Theories and Its Implication for Public Health Policy: Analysis of the Impacts of Political, Psychological, Structural Factors on Conspiracy Beliefs about the," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-28, December.
    9. Callaghan, Timothy & Motta, Matthew & Sylvester, Steven & Lunz Trujillo, Kristin & Blackburn, Christine Crudo, 2019. "Parent psychology and the decision to delay childhood vaccination," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.
    10. Motta, Matthew & Callaghan, Timothy & Sylvester, Steven, 2018. "Knowing less but presuming more: Dunning-Kruger effects and the endorsement of anti-vaccine policy attitudes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 274-281.
    11. Van Oost, Pascaline & Yzerbyt, Vincent & Schmitz, Mathias & Vansteenkiste, Maarten & Luminet, Olivier & Morbée, Sofie & Van den Bergh, Omer & Waterschoot, Joachim & Klein, Olivier, 2022. "The relation between conspiracism, government trust, and COVID-19 vaccination intentions: The key role of motivation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    12. Oliver Fernando Hidalgo, 2022. "Religions and Conspiracy Theories as the Authoritarian “Other” of Democracy?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(4), pages 146-156.
    13. Daniel Silverman, 2019. "What Shapes Civilian Beliefs about Violent Events? Experimental Evidence from Pakistan," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 63(6), pages 1460-1487, July.
    14. Adrian Kwek & Luke Peh & Josef Tan & Jin Xing Lee, 2023. "Distractions, analytical thinking and falling for fake news: A survey of psychological factors," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    15. Milošević Đorđević, J. & Mari, S. & Vdović, M. & Milošević, A., 2021. "Links between conspiracy beliefs, vaccine knowledge, and trust: Anti-vaccine behavior of Serbian adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    16. R Kelly Garrett & Brian E Weeks, 2017. "Epistemic beliefs’ role in promoting misperceptions and conspiracist ideation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, September.
    17. Bartosz M. Nowak & Cezary Miedziarek & Szymon Pełczyński & Piotr Rzymski, 2021. "Misinformation, Fears and Adherence to Preventive Measures during the Early Phase of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-11, November.
    18. Ethan Struby & Christina Farhart, 2024. "Inflation Expectations and Political Polarization: Evidence from the Cooperative Election Study," Working Papers 2024-01, Carleton College, Department of Economics.

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