Perceived lack of control and conspiracy theory beliefs in the wake of political strife and natural disaster

While lack of control is one plausible explanation for conspiracy beliefs, the experimental evidence mixed. We present two naturalistic studies that offer some limited support hypothesis. In first, Macedonians living in (North) Macedonia (N = 116) completed a ideation scale immediately after national referendum on country?s name change from ?Macedonia? to ?North Macedonia,? and year after. The opposition, whose was lowered change, increased their but supporters did not. Study 2, conducted with Americans 266) wake series devastating tornadoes, replicated expanded first study: effects were evident only threatening event-related beliefs. These suggest possible link between beliefs real world.