Studies

The Dark Triad traits predict authoritarian political correctness and alt-right attitudes

Representative Studies & Themes

1. The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories (Douglas, Sutton, Cichocka, et al., 2017)
   A widely cited review that organizes psychological motives behind conspiracy beliefs into three categories: epistemic (desire for understanding), existential (need for control / security), and social (desire to maintain a positive image of self or group). (PMC)
   It also notes that while many studies focus on correlates, fewer examine the outcomes or whether conspiracy belief actually satisfies those motives.
2. Belief in conspiracy theories: Basic principles (van Prooijen & van Lange, 2018)
   This paper outlines foundational principles in the study of conspiracy beliefs: that they are consequential, universal, emotional, and social. (PMC)
   It also reviews how early work emphasized demographic correlates (e.g. political affiliation, minority status) before shifting toward psychological and cognitive explanations.
3. On modeling the correlates of conspiracy thinking (Enders et al., 2023)
   This study examines the relationship between a general predisposition toward conspiracy thinking and 34 different psychological, social, and political characteristics. (Nature)
   It helps clarify which traits or conditions tend to be more robust predictors when considered together, rather than in isolation.
4. On the Viability of Conspiratorial Beliefs (Grimes, 2016, PLOS One)
   This is a more formal / mathematical modeling approach: Grimes develops a model for multi-actor conspiracies over time, estimating the probability of success vs failure and highlighting systemic fragility in conspiracy designs. (PLOS)
5. Review: How social identity shapes conspiratorial belief (Robertson et al., 2022)
   This review explores how threats to one’s social identity (racial, political, cultural) can fuel susceptibility to conspiracy theories. (ScienceDirect)
6. Paranoia and conspiracy thinking (Greenburgh et al., 2022)
   This work explores the overlap between paranoia and conspiratorial thinking, noting shared risk factors such as social isolation, victimization, and structural inequality. (ScienceDirect)
7. The “recognition,” “belief,” and “action” regarding conspiracy theories (Murayama et al., 2025, forthcoming / preprint)
   This study breaks down the process of conspiracy engagement into stages: recognizing conspiratorial content, believing it, and then taking action (e.g. spreading or acting on it). It uses large samples from the U.S. and Japan to test predictors at each stage. (arXiv)
8. Early linguistic fingerprints of online users who engage with conspiracy communities (Corso et al., 2025, preprint)
   This recent work examines how linguistic markers in online behavior can predict who will join conspiratorial communities—even before they overtly engage. It suggests a “pre-existing conspiratorial mindset.” (arXiv)
9. Have beliefs in conspiracy theories increased over time? (Uscinski et al., 2022)
   This empirical investigation examines whether conspiracy belief prevalence has actually risen, countering assumptions. They find only weak evidence for large temporal increases. (PLOS)
10. Conspiracy theories in societal crisis (van Prooijen, 2017)
    This work connects periods of social stress or crisis (e.g. wars, pandemics) with spikes in conspiracy belief, arguing that such times amplify the psychological needs (control, uncertainty reduction) that conspiracies seem to address. (SAGE Journals)

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Themes & Takeaway Patterns

• Motivational / Psychological Drivers
  Many theorists view conspiracy belief as driven by underlying needs (e.g. making sense of complex events, reasserting control, protecting self- or group-esteem). (PMC)
• Cognitive & Information Processing
  Some studies look at heuristics, biases, reasoning styles (e.g. probabilistic vs intuitive thinking) and how they correlate with conspiratorial predispositions. (See also work pointing to “actively open-minded thinking” and probabilistic reasoning as predictors) (Taylor & Francis Online)
• Social Identity, Threat & Group Conflict
  Conspiratorial thinking often interacts with threats to identity—if a person’s group feels marginalized or threatened, conspiracy beliefs may provide a narrative that explains and resists that threat. (ScienceDirect)
• Structural / Contextual Catalysts
  In times of crisis, uncertainty, or inequality, conspiracy beliefs often intensify, partly because they offer a narrative when institutions seem opaque or failing. (SAGE Journals)
• Outcomes, Behavior & Consequences
  Some research links conspiracy beliefs to downstream effects, like support for political violence, distrust in institutions, refusal of public health measures, and polarization. (Misinformation Review)
• Temporal & Predictive Modelling
  Recent studies try to parse how conspiracy beliefs evolve (what onset looks like), how stable they are, and which predictors are more potent in multivariate settings. (arXiv)

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Recent Empirical & Theoretical Studies

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