Conspiracy theory and cognitive style: a worldview

Conspiracy theory and cognitive style: a worldview

This paper assessed whether belief in conspiracy theories was associated with a particularly cognitive style (worldview). The sample comprised 223 volunteers recruited via convenience sampling and included undergraduates, postgraduates, university employees, and alumni. Respondents completed measures assessing a range of cognitive-perceptual factors (schizotypy, delusional ideation, and halluci...

Reasoning ability predicts irrational worldview but not conspiracy belief

Previous research showed that individual tendency to believe in conspiracy theories is related to numerous social, personality, and cognitive variables. Moreover, such a tendency may reflect a broader trait for epistemic irrationality, which drives other pseudoscientific and paranormal beliefs. However, the relationship between conspiracy belief and reasoning ability (fluid intelligence; Gf) wa...

Origins of language: A conspiracy theory

A general theory of cross - cultural variation in cognitive style

The purpose of this paper is to put forth a theory that will synthesize as much as possible of what has been observed about cross-cultural differences in thinking in the last few decades. The theoretical notion that is used is cognitive style, defined as learned habits to emphasize the development and use of certain universal cognitive processes. Three cognitive style variables will be used to ...

Some Dare Call It Conspiracy: Labeling Something a Conspiracy Theory Does Not Reduce Belief in It

“Conspiracy theory” is widely acknowledged to be a loaded term. Politicians use it to mock and dismiss allegations against them, while philosophers and political scientists warn that it could be used as a rhetorical weapon to pathologize dissent. In two empirical studies conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk, I present an initial examination of whether this concern is justified. In Experiment 1, ...