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Related Concept Videos

Confirmation Biases01:31

Confirmation Biases

8.3K
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?
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Group Polarization01:01

Group Polarization

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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.
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Groupthink01:34

Groupthink

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When in group settings, we are often influenced by the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors around us. Groupthink is another phenomenon of conformity where modification of the opinions of members in a group aligns with what they believe is the group consensus (Janis, 1972). In such situations, the group often takes action that individuals would not perform outside the group setting because groups make more extreme decisions than individuals do. Moreover, groupthink can hinder opposing trains of...
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Magical Thinking01:29

Magical Thinking

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Magical thinking encompasses the belief in assumptions that defy logical reasoning yet appear intuitively convincing. It is a common psychological phenomenon that persists across various cultural and individual contexts. While these assumptions contradict empirical evidence and scientific laws, they often serve meaningful psychological roles in promoting emotional resilience and a sense of control, especially under stress or uncertainty.Thought-Action Fusion and the Law of SimilarityA key...
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Conformity01:20

Conformity

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Conformity is the change in a person’s behavior to go along with the group, even if that person does not agree with the group.
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Cause and Effect01:53

Cause and Effect

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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?
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 17, 2026

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
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Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses

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Conspiracy belief is a conspiracy.

Philip J Wilson1

  • 1Independent, UK.

Public Understanding of Science (Bristol, England)
|February 16, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Conspiracy belief is not exclusive to any political group, challenging the idea that social media misinformation primarily affects the politically right. Motivated reasoning affects accusers and the accused alike.

Area of Science:

  • Social Psychology
  • Political Science
  • Media Studies

Background:

  • Public discourse often links Internet fakery and social media amplification to conspiracy beliefs, particularly among the politically right.
  • This perspective suggests a causal relationship between perceived powerlessness and susceptibility to conspiracy theories.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically examine the attribution of conspiracy belief to specific political affiliations or social strata.
  • To investigate the role of motivated reasoning in the perception and accusation of conspiracy beliefs.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of existing literature and survey data on conspiracy belief.
  • Critique of social survey methodologies and their potential misrepresentation of conservative respondents.
Keywords:
conspiracy theoryhumourinteraction experts/publicslay expertisemisinformationmistrustmotivated reasoningsocial survey

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Main Results:

  • Conspiracy belief is not confined to any single political group or social class.
  • Social surveys can misrepresent conservative individuals if interpreted uncritically, leading to exaggerated negative portrayals.
  • Accusations of conspiracy belief are influenced by motivated reasoning in both accusers and those accused.

Conclusions:

  • The link between social media, Internet fakery, and conspiracy belief is complex and not exclusive to the political right.
  • Oversimplified attributions of conspiracy belief can perpetuate biases and misrepresent significant portions of the population.
  • Motivated reasoning is a pervasive cognitive bias influencing perceptions of conspiracy belief across diverse groups.