Code

Code for: Do Conspiracy Beliefs form a Belief System? Examining the Structure and Organization of Conspiracy Beliefs

Do Conspiracy Beliefs form a Belief System? Examining the Structure and Organization of Conspiracy Beliefs

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Enders, Adam M.
Uscinski, Joseph E.
Klofstad, Casey A.
Seelig, Michelle I.
Wuchty, Stephan
Everett, Caleb
Murthi, Manohar N.
Premaratne, Kamal
Funchion, John R.

Abstract / Description

Code for: Enders, A. M., Uscinski, J. E., Klofstad, C. A., Seelig, M. I., Wuchty, S., Murthi, M. N., Premaratne, K., & Funchion, J. R. (2021). Do Conspiracy Beliefs Form a Belief System? Examining the Structure and Organization of Conspiracy Beliefs. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 9(1), 255-271. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.5649
Despite regular reference to conspiracy theories as a “belief system,” few studies have attempted to explore the structure and organization of conspiracy beliefs beyond an examination of correlations between those beliefs. Employing unique data from two national surveys that includes respondent beliefs in 27 conspiracy theories, we decipher the substantive dimensions along which conspiracy beliefs are organized, as well as subgroupings within those dimensions. We find that variation in these conspiracy beliefs can be accounted for with two dimensions: the first regards partisan and ideological identities, while the other is composed of anti-social orientations, such as narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and acceptance of political violence. Importantly, these two dimensions are uncorrelated. We also find that conspiracy beliefs group together by substantive content, such as those regarding partisan actors or science/medicine. Our findings also demonstrate that inferences about the correlates of conspiracy beliefs are highly contingent on the specific conspiracy theories employed by researchers. We provide suggestions for future research in this vein.

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2021-04-15

Publisher

PsychArchives

Is referenced by

Citation

Enders, A. M., Uscinski, J. E., Klofstad, C. A., Seelig, M. I., Wuchty, S., Everett, C., Murthi, M. N., Premaratne, K., & Funchion, J. R. (2021). Code for: Do Conspiracy Beliefs form a Belief System? Examining the Structure and Organization of Conspiracy Beliefs. PsychArchives. https://doi.org/10.23668/PSYCHARCHIVES.4777
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Enders, Adam M.
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Uscinski, Joseph E.
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Klofstad, Casey A.
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Seelig, Michelle I.
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Wuchty, Stephan
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Everett, Caleb
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Murthi, Manohar N.
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Premaratne, Kamal
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Funchion, John R.
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2021-04-15T11:47:47Z
  • Made available on
    2021-04-15T11:47:47Z
  • Date of first publication
    2021-04-15
  • Abstract / Description
    Code for: Enders, A. M., Uscinski, J. E., Klofstad, C. A., Seelig, M. I., Wuchty, S., Murthi, M. N., Premaratne, K., & Funchion, J. R. (2021). Do Conspiracy Beliefs Form a Belief System? Examining the Structure and Organization of Conspiracy Beliefs. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 9(1), 255-271. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.5649
    en_US
  • Abstract / Description
    Despite regular reference to conspiracy theories as a “belief system,” few studies have attempted to explore the structure and organization of conspiracy beliefs beyond an examination of correlations between those beliefs. Employing unique data from two national surveys that includes respondent beliefs in 27 conspiracy theories, we decipher the substantive dimensions along which conspiracy beliefs are organized, as well as subgroupings within those dimensions. We find that variation in these conspiracy beliefs can be accounted for with two dimensions: the first regards partisan and ideological identities, while the other is composed of anti-social orientations, such as narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and acceptance of political violence. Importantly, these two dimensions are uncorrelated. We also find that conspiracy beliefs group together by substantive content, such as those regarding partisan actors or science/medicine. Our findings also demonstrate that inferences about the correlates of conspiracy beliefs are highly contingent on the specific conspiracy theories employed by researchers. We provide suggestions for future research in this vein.
    en
  • Publication status
    unknown
    en_US
  • Review status
    unknown
    en_US
  • Citation
    Enders, A. M., Uscinski, J. E., Klofstad, C. A., Seelig, M. I., Wuchty, S., Everett, C., Murthi, M. N., Premaratne, K., & Funchion, J. R. (2021). Code for: Do Conspiracy Beliefs form a Belief System? Examining the Structure and Organization of Conspiracy Beliefs. PsychArchives. https://doi.org/10.23668/PSYCHARCHIVES.4777
    en
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/4216
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.4777
  • Language of content
    eng
    en_US
  • Publisher
    PsychArchives
    en_US
  • Is referenced by
    https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.5649
  • Is related to
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.4776
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    Code for: Do Conspiracy Beliefs form a Belief System? Examining the Structure and Organization of Conspiracy Beliefs
    en_US
  • Alternative title
    Do Conspiracy Beliefs form a Belief System? Examining the Structure and Organization of Conspiracy Beliefs
    en_US
  • DRO type
    code
    en_US