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Analytic thinking reduces belief in conspiracy theories
Viren Swami1, Martin Voracek2, Stefan Stieger3
1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Westminster, London, UK.
Cognition
|September 14, 2014
Summary
Promoting analytic thinking can reduce belief in conspiracy theories. Studies show that encouraging analytical thought, rather than intuitive thinking, lowers conspiracist ideation and belief in false narratives.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Belief in conspiracy theories correlates with negative health, civic, and social outcomes.
- Thinking dispositions are potential factors influencing conspiracy belief, but empirical links are underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between thinking dispositions and conspiracy belief.
- To examine the causal role of analytic thinking in reducing conspiracist ideation.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: Correlational analysis of thinking dispositions (analytic thinking, open-mindedness, intuitive thinking) and conspiracy belief in a British sample (N=990).
- Studies 2-4: Experimental manipulation to elicit analytic thinking (verbal fluency task, cognitive disfluency) and measure its effect on conspiracy belief in student (N=189) and general population (N=140) samples.
Main Results:
- Conspiracy belief was associated with lower analytic thinking and open-mindedness, and higher intuitive thinking.
- Eliciting analytic thinking via verbal fluency tasks or cognitive disfluency significantly reduced conspiracy belief.
- Results were consistent across different samples and specific conspiracy theories.
Conclusions:
- Analytic thinking is inversely related to conspiracy belief.
- Interventions aimed at promoting analytic thinking show potential for countering conspiracy theories.
Keywords:
Analytic thinkingConspiracy theoriesExperiential thinkingOpen-mindednessThinking dispositionsMore Related Videos
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