Conspiracy theories, which posit secret plots by malevolent and powerful groups, have surrounded us for many years. Although they have long been of interest to researchers and the general public, they gained significantly more attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, which provided fertile ground for the emergence and spread of many conspiracy theories. Since the proliferation of conspiracy theories—both belief in them and their dissemination - can have serious consequences, researchers are increasingly interested in studying these phenomena.

Previous research has shown that belief in conspiracy theories is associated with negative emotional experiences, such as uncertainty or anxiety. Recent studies suggest that not only emotions (or emotion-related phenomena, such as stress), but above all the ways in which people cope with them, are linked to the endorsement of conspiracy explanations. In particular, conspiracy beliefs stem from emotion dysregulation and maladaptive coping with stress. Indeed, conspiracy-related phenomena are rooted in emotional processes. A lack of psychological resources or skills for dealing with psychological threat may lead to the transfer of negative emotions onto the social world. In this way, belief in conspiracy theories may be triggered by negative emotional experiences, especially when individuals adopt maladaptive approaches to emotions. In this project, we propose that key emotion-related processes (here: fundamental beliefs about emotions), which influence individuals’ tendency to experience negative emotions, may underlie both belief in and the dissemination of conspiracy theories.

Our project aims to investigate the role of maladaptive versus adaptive beliefs about emotions (i.e., individuals’ fundamental beliefs about emotions, in relation to two key dimensions: controllability and usefulness) in the endorsement and sharing of conspiracy theories. The literature on emotional processes underlying belief in conspiracy theories is limited—little is known about the mechanisms driving these associations, as well as the underlying processes (e.g., core beliefs about emotions) that precede emotion regulation. Moreover, research has devoted relatively little attention to another important conspiracy-related phenomenon—conspiracy sharing (i.e., discussing and disseminating conspiracy theories), which may contribute to their widespread prevalence.

As a result, our project will examine the sources of belief in conspiracy theories and their dissemination in the domain of beliefs concerning emotions. We argue that the effects of core beliefs about emotions may also extend into the social sphere, shaping the way we explain events in the world around us. We assume that conspiracy beliefs and the sharing of them should be higher among individuals with more maladaptive (versus adaptive) beliefs about emotions. In other words, individuals with more maladaptive beliefs about emotions will be more likely to endorse conspiracy explanations and to share conspiracy theories, for example due to impaired emotion regulation or negative emotions. Holding fundamental beliefs about the harmfulness and uncontrollability of the core emotional domain should translate into endorsing theories suggesting that the world is a bad place, secretly controlled by powerful, malevolent groups that coordinate all events. We will conduct a series of correlational and experimental studies to test these hypotheses.

The results of the project will shed new light on the emotional roots of phenomena related to conspiracy theories, significantly expanding current knowledge. Importantly, we will gain new insight into the so far unexplored area of sharing conspiracy theories. Finally, our research on the role of beliefs about emotions in shaping phenomena related to conspiracy theories may provide promising methods for reducing the endorsement and sharing of conspiracy theories. What are the relationships between beliefs about emotions and belief in conspiracy theories and their dissemination? Does changing beliefs about emotions affect the tendency to believe in and share conspiracy theories? We will answer these questions by carrying out our project.

Project Head: Zuzanna Molenda, PhD, Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences

Project budget: 130 200 PLN