Associative Learning in a Conspiratorial Frame.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Conspiracy beliefs are prevalent and have negative societal impacts.
• The learning mechanisms behind conspiracy beliefs are not well understood.
• Associative learning principles, like blocking, can explain belief formation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how associative learning processes, specifically blocking, contribute to the acquisition of conspiracy beliefs.
• To examine if individuals with pre-existing conspiracy beliefs exhibit enhanced blocking effects.

Main Methods:

• Participants were presented with a scenario involving a politician and a conspiracy (poisoning).
• A blocking paradigm was used, pairing a conspiracy-congruent location with a novel location, both linked to illness.
• Learning about the novel location was assessed in the presence of the conspiracy-congruent location.

Main Results:

• Learning about the novel location was significantly blocked by the conspiracy-congruent location.
• Participants, on aggregate, endorsed the conspiracy theory.
• No difference in general blocking ability was found between individuals who tend to believe in conspiracies and those who do not.

Conclusions:

• Conspiracy theories can be acquired and sustained through standard associative learning mechanisms, like blocking.
• The study provides empirical evidence for cognitive processes underlying conspiracy belief formation.
• Understanding these learning processes is crucial for addressing the societal impact of conspiracy beliefs.