Freelon D. The shared psychological roots of prejudice and conspiracy theory belief.
Curr Opin Psychol 2024;
56:101773. [PMID:
38118270 DOI:
10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101773]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
The psychological literature on prejudice and conspiracy theory belief have generally remained distinct, implicitly treating the two as unrelated phenomena. In this brief review, I demonstrate that the two phenomena share at least three dispositional precursors: ingroup bias, right-wing ideology (specifically right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation), and need for closure. The evidence I present suggests that prejudice and conspiracy beliefs may be more closely related both conceptually and normatively than existing research has indicated. In particular, they may appear in the same individuals, cause similar kinds of harms in adherents as well as target populations, and respond to similar counteractive interventions.
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