Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 5, 2025
06:42
Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
Published on: September 28, 2018
11.7K
Conspiracy beliefs and science rejection.
Bastiaan T Rutjens1, Bojana Većkalov1
1Department of Psychology, Social Psychology Program, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Current Opinion in Psychology
|July 7, 2022
Summary
Science rejection is linked to conspiracy beliefs, whether specific to science or part of a broader worldview. Understanding these links is key to addressing science denial and promoting trust in scientific findings.
Area of Science:
- Social psychology
- Science communication
- Belief systems
Background:
- Growing prevalence of science rejection and conspiracy beliefs.
- Need to understand the psychological underpinnings of science denial.
- Distinction between science-specific and general conspiracist beliefs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and synthesize research on the relationship between conspiracy beliefs and science rejection.
- To identify key factors contributing to science rejection.
- To explore potential interventions for combating science denial.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent studies.
- Conceptual analysis of conspiracy beliefs and science rejection.
- Categorization of contributing factors and potential interventions.
Main Results:
- Science rejection is associated with both science-specific conspiracy beliefs and general conspiracist worldviews.
- Factors contributing to science-specific beliefs include the social nature of science, policy conflicts, and perceived uncertainty.
- General conspiracism, amplified by cognitive biases, contributes to rejection in areas like climate change and vaccination.
Conclusions:
- Conspiracy beliefs significantly influence science rejection through various psychological pathways.
- Addressing science denial requires understanding its multifaceted origins.
- Interventions should target both specific misconceptions and broader conspiratorial thinking patterns.
Related Concept Videos
01:31Confirmation Biases
7.1K
The confirmation bias is the tendency to focus on information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore information that is inconsistent with our expectations. For example, if you think that your professor is not very nice, you notice all of the instances of rude behavior exhibited by the professor while ignoring the countless pleasant interactions he is involved in on a daily basis. Have you ever fallen prey to the confirmation bias, either as the source or target of such bias?
7.1K
02:31Scientific Laws and Theories
79.4K
Scientific Laws
79.4K
01:01Group Polarization
35.4K
Group polarization is the strengthening of an original group attitude following the discussion of views within a group (Teger & Pruitt, 1967). That is, if a group initially favors a viewpoint, after discussion the group consensus is likely a stronger endorsement of the viewpoint. Conversely, if the group was initially opposed to a viewpoint, group discussion would likely lead to stronger opposition.
35.4K
01:17Hypothesis: Accept or Fail to Reject?
28.3K
The outcome of any hypothesis testing leads to rejecting or not rejecting the null hypothesis. This decision is taken based on the analysis of the data, an appropriate test statistic, an appropriate confidence level, the critical values, and P-values. However, when the evidence suggests that the null hypothesis cannot be rejected, is it right to say, 'Accept' the null hypothesis?
There are two ways to indicate that the null hypothesis is not rejected. 'Accept' the null...
There are two ways to indicate that the null hypothesis is not rejected. 'Accept' the null...
28.3K
02:09Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies
38.6K
When we hold a stereotype about a person, we have expectations that he or she will fulfill that stereotype. A self-fulfilling prophecy is an expectation held by a person that alters his or her behavior in a way that tends to make it true. When we hold stereotypes about a person, we tend to treat the person according to our expectations. This treatment can influence the person to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs. Research by Rosenthal and...
38.6K
01:53Cause and Effect
11.3K
While variables are sometimes correlated because one does cause the other, it could also be that some other factor, a confounding variable, is actually causing the systematic movement in our variables of interest. For instance, as sales in ice cream increase, so does the overall rate of crime. Is it possible that indulging in your favorite flavor of ice cream could send you on a crime spree? Or, after committing crime do you think you might decide to treat yourself to a cone?
11.3K