Academic Journal
Conspiracy thinking and belief in partisan conspiracy theories: A moderating effect of partisan congruence?
| Title: | Conspiracy thinking and belief in partisan conspiracy theories: A moderating effect of partisan congruence? |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Yair, Omer1 (AUTHOR) omer.yair@post.runi.ac.il, Hebel‐Sela, Shira2 (AUTHOR), Cavari, Amnon1 (AUTHOR), Efrat, Asif1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Political Psychology. Apr2026, Vol. 47 Issue 2, p1-20. 20p. |
| Subject Terms: | Partisanship, Conspiracy theories, Polarization (Social sciences), Political affiliation, Worldview |
| Geographic Terms: | United States |
| Abstract: | Various studies have shown that people's predisposition to believe in conspiracy theories, commonly referred to as "conspiracy thinking," strongly predicts belief in a myriad of conspiracy theories. Research also shows that partisan affiliations shape conspiracy theory beliefs: people tend to embrace theories that portray their political opponents as conspirators, while rejecting those that implicate their side. In this paper, we theorize that one's conspiracy thinking and partisan affiliations interact in predicting belief in partisan conspiracy theories. Specifically, we argue that the effect of conspiracy thinking is moderated by one's partisan affiliation, such that this effect is stronger when the conspiracy theories are congruent with one's partisan affiliations than when they are incongruent. Drawing on six studies from the US and Israel (total N = 10,765; 61 conspiracy theories in total), we find strong and consistent support for our argument. In addition, we find no interactive effect when predicting belief in non‐partisan conspiracy theories. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for the study of conspiracy theory endorsement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Conspiracy thinking and belief in partisan conspiracy theories: A moderating effect of partisan congruence? – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yair%2C+Omer%22">Yair, Omer</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> omer.yair@post.runi.ac.il</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hebel‐Sela%2C+Shira%22">Hebel‐Sela, Shira</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cavari%2C+Amnon%22">Cavari, Amnon</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Efrat%2C+Asif%22">Efrat, Asif</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Political+Psychology%22">Political Psychology</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 47 Issue 2, p1-20. 20p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Partisanship%22">Partisanship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Conspiracy+theories%22">Conspiracy theories</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Polarization+%28Social+sciences%29%22">Polarization (Social sciences)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Political+affiliation%22">Political affiliation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Worldview%22">Worldview</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+States%22">United States</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Various studies have shown that people's predisposition to believe in conspiracy theories, commonly referred to as "conspiracy thinking," strongly predicts belief in a myriad of conspiracy theories. Research also shows that partisan affiliations shape conspiracy theory beliefs: people tend to embrace theories that portray their political opponents as conspirators, while rejecting those that implicate their side. In this paper, we theorize that one's conspiracy thinking and partisan affiliations interact in predicting belief in partisan conspiracy theories. Specifically, we argue that the effect of conspiracy thinking is moderated by one's partisan affiliation, such that this effect is stronger when the conspiracy theories are congruent with one's partisan affiliations than when they are incongruent. Drawing on six studies from the US and Israel (total N = 10,765; 61 conspiracy theories in total), we find strong and consistent support for our argument. In addition, we find no interactive effect when predicting belief in non‐partisan conspiracy theories. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for the study of conspiracy theory endorsement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Political Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1111/pops.70131 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 20 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Partisanship Type: general – SubjectFull: Conspiracy theories Type: general – SubjectFull: Polarization (Social sciences) Type: general – SubjectFull: Political affiliation Type: general – SubjectFull: Worldview Type: general – SubjectFull: United States Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Conspiracy thinking and belief in partisan conspiracy theories: A moderating effect of partisan congruence? Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Yair, Omer – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Hebel‐Sela, Shira – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Cavari, Amnon – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Efrat, Asif IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 04 Text: Apr2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 0162895X Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 47 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Political Psychology Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |