Conspiracy Theory Endorsement Profiles: A Cluster Validation Study

IF 2.7 2区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL

European Journal of Social Psychology Pub Date : 2026-08-05 Epub Date: 2026-04-21 DOI:10.1002/ejsp.70080

Otto Mäki, Eetu Marttila, Tuomo Häikiö, Daria Pritup, Kaisa Elovaara, Pasi Kivioja, Johanna K. Kaakinen

{"title":"Conspiracy Theory Endorsement Profiles: A Cluster Validation Study","authors":"Otto Mäki, Eetu Marttila, Tuomo Häikiö, Daria Pritup, Kaisa Elovaara, Pasi Kivioja, Johanna K. Kaakinen","doi":"10.1002/ejsp.70080","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"A substantial body of research has investigated the determinants of conspiratorial beliefs, yet little is known about different conspiracy theory endorsement profiles. The present study used cluster analysis on a set of 52 conspiratorial statements tapping into six conspiracy theory types to identify and validate conspiracy theory endorsement clusters in a randomly drawn sample of the Finnish population (N = 1077). The cluster solution was then further validated in a social media-based convenience sample (N = 772). Four conspiracy theory endorsement clusters with distinct profiles were identified and validated across the samples. Participants who belonged to more conspiracy theory-endorsing clusters held more pseudoscientific beliefs and had lower political trust than participants in the less conspiracy theory-endorsing clusters. Mixed results were found concerning demographic differences. The results provide strong evidence for the existence of four conspiracy theory endorsement profiles and support the notion of a general conspiracy mindset.","PeriodicalId":48377,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Psychology","volume":"56 5","pages":"861-872"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2026-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ejsp.70080","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"European Journal of Social Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.70080","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/4/21 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

A substantial body of research has investigated the determinants of conspiratorial beliefs, yet little is known about different conspiracy theory endorsement profiles. The present study used cluster analysis on a set of 52 conspiratorial statements tapping into six conspiracy theory types to identify and validate conspiracy theory endorsement clusters in a randomly drawn sample of the Finnish population (N = 1077). The cluster solution was then further validated in a social media-based convenience sample (N = 772). Four conspiracy theory endorsement clusters with distinct profiles were identified and validated across the samples. Participants who belonged to more conspiracy theory-endorsing clusters held more pseudoscientific beliefs and had lower political trust than participants in the less conspiracy theory-endorsing clusters. Mixed results were found concerning demographic differences. The results provide strong evidence for the existence of four conspiracy theory endorsement profiles and support the notion of a general conspiracy mindset.

查看原文本刊更多论文

阴谋论背书档案：一个聚类验证研究

大量的研究已经调查了阴谋论信仰的决定因素，但人们对不同的阴谋论支持概况知之甚少。本研究在随机抽取的芬兰人口样本（N = 1077）中，对52个阴谋论陈述进行聚类分析，涉及六种阴谋论类型，以识别和验证阴谋论支持聚类。然后在基于社交媒体的便利样本（N = 772）中进一步验证集群解决方案。四个具有不同特征的阴谋论支持集群在样本中被识别和验证。与不太支持阴谋论的参与者相比，属于更支持阴谋论的群体的参与者持有更多的伪科学信仰，政治信任度也更低。有关人口差异的结果喜忧参半。研究结果为四种阴谋论认可档案的存在提供了强有力的证据，并支持了普遍阴谋心态的概念。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

European Journal of Social Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL-

CiteScore

6.10

自引率

7.70%

发文量

期刊介绍： Topics covered include, among others, intergroup relations, group processes, social cognition, attitudes, social influence and persuasion, self and identity, verbal and nonverbal communication, language and thought, affect and emotion, embodied and situated cognition and individual differences of social-psychological relevance. Together with original research articles, the European Journal of Social Psychology"s innovative and inclusive style is reflected in the variety of articles published: Research Article: Original articles that provide a significant contribution to the understanding of social phenomena, up to a maximum of 12,000 words in length.