Individuals who have endured significant hardships in their lives may be more inclined to believe in conspiracy theories, according to a recent study. Researchers found that this susceptibility is not solely due to the adversity itself, but rather how those experiences shape an individual's perception of the world as fundamentally unfair.
The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Nottingham and the University of Cumbria, involved three experiments with over 1,200 participants. The findings indicate that when life difficulties lead people to feel that the world is unjust, conspiracy theories can become a more appealing explanation for these perceived injustices.
Dr. Daniel Jolley, the lead author of the study, explained that while many people face adversity, not all become conspiracy believers. "Our findings suggest it isn't hardship alone that matters, but how those experiences shape the way people see the world," he stated. "When adversity leads people to feel that the world is fundamentally unfair, conspiracy theories may become more appealing because they offer an explanation for that injustice."
Previous research has also explored psychological factors linked to conspiracy beliefs. A 2015 study from the University of Kent suggested a connection between believing in conspiracy theories and negative psychological traits, such as low self-esteem and narcissism. That research indicated that individuals who scored higher on narcissism scales and lower on self-esteem assessments were more likely to endorse conspiracy theories.
The latest study's experiments involved participants reporting on life adversities like serious illness, bereavement, financial difficulties, and violence. They were also assessed for their levels of conspiracy thinking. The results consistently showed that individuals who had faced more adverse life events tended to perceive the world as more unjust, and these perceptions were correlated with stronger beliefs in conspiracy theories.
One experiment specifically compared individuals who had experienced violent crime with those who had not. This comparison revealed that victims of violence reported a stronger sense of injustice, which in turn was associated with a greater tendency to believe in conspiracies.
In a further experiment, researchers manipulated participants' perceptions by leading them to believe society was becoming more unfair. Subsequently, these participants reported stronger conspiracy beliefs, highlighting the role of perceived societal fairness.
Dr. Laura Blackie, a co-author of the study, noted the potential implications for societal trust. "While our findings do not establish causality, they point to an important pathway through which adversity may shape how people view society," she said. "Clinical psychologists have long documented the detrimental impact of acute trauma on individuals' worldviews. Our findings suggest that perceptions of unfairness in society might be one such detrimental outcome to result from adversity, and these perceptions may have consequences for the receptivity of conspiracy beliefs and trust in societal institutions."