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Conspiracy beliefs predict perceptions of procedural justice
Svenja B Frenzel1, Lotte Pummerer2,3, Sonja Utz3,4
1Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID), Trier, Germany. sf@leibniz-psychology.org.
Scientific Reports
|August 19, 2025
Summary
Political COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs were linked to lower perceived government fairness during the pandemic. Lower conspiracy beliefs correlated with greater increases in perceived procedural justice over time.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Political Science
- Public Health
Background:
- Political COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs may influence perceptions of government fairness and legitimacy.
- Understanding these beliefs is crucial for navigating public trust during health crises.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and perceived procedural justice.
- To investigate the moderating roles of economic and health threats on this relationship.
- To analyze changes in perceived procedural justice over the pandemic's course.
Main Methods:
- A five-wave longitudinal study with 4939 participants.
- Latent growth curve modeling was used to analyze the data.
- Data collection spanned from May/June 2022 to September 2023.
Main Results:
- Conspiracy beliefs were negatively associated with the initial level of procedural justice.
- Conspiracy beliefs were negatively associated with the change in procedural justice over time.
- Health threat moderated the relationship, with stronger conspiracy beliefs showing less resentment when health threat was high.
Conclusions:
- COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs negatively impact perceived procedural justice, potentially affecting government legitimacy.
- The effects of conspiracy beliefs on procedural justice may persist beyond the pandemic.
- Health and economic threats play significant roles in moderating these perceptions.
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