Maybe a free thinker but not a critical one: High conspiracy belief is associated with low critical thinking ability

Abstract

Critical thinking is of paramount importance in our society. People regularly assume that critical thinking is a way to reduce conspiracy belief, although the relationship between critical thinking and conspiracy belief has never been tested. We conducted two studies (Study 1, N = 86; Study 2, N = 252), in which we found that critical thinking ability-measured by an open-ended test emphasizing several areas of critical thinking ability in the context of argumentation-is negatively associated with belief in conspiracy theories. Additionally, we did not find a significant relationship between self-reported (subjective) critical thinking ability and conspiracy belief. Our results support the idea that conspiracy believers have less developed critical thinking ability and stimulate discussion about the possibility of reducing conspiracy beliefs via the development of critical thinking.

Conspiracy theories and the conspiracy mindset: implications for political ideology

“…For example, they often stem from unreliable and unaccountable sources, and require that a number of alleged conspirators executed their roles competently and have since held their silence [44]. The normative disadvantages of conspiracy theories help explain why indices of irrational or nonrational thinking, and reduced willingness or ability to process, are associated with belief in them [1,4,45,46]. Therefore, while the conspiracy mindset is defined as a political attitude, it could also be defined as comprising a general susceptibility to implausible beliefs [47].…”

Conspiratorial Beliefs and Cognitive Styles: An Integrated Look on Analytic Thinking, Critical Thinking, and Scientific Reasoning in Relation to (Dis)trust in Conspiracy Theories

“…Specifically, analytic thinking and critical thinking can be considered as neighboring but distinct cognitive styles (Lantian et al, 2021), with the former usually referred as a broader set of the latter. In critical thinking, the general tendency for slow, deliberate, explicit (Kahneman and Frederick, 2002;Kahneman, 2011), detail-oriented (Kozhevnikov, 2007) and resource-demanding analysis (Franssens and De Neys, 2009), is coupled with more elaborate dispositions and metacognitive strategies, sometimes referred as a "mindware" (Stanovich and Stanovich, 2010).…”

“…Overall, these studies have highlighted the pivotal role of the so-called "mindware" and various metacognitive strategies for the enhanced resistance toward conspiratorial narratives. In a recent study, Lantian et al (2021), the authors utilized Ennis-Weir critical thinking essay test (Ennis, 1996) and the generic conspiracist beliefs scale (Brotherton et al, 2013) to directly test the link, concluding that "conspiracy believers have less developed critical thinking ability. "…”

“…Interestingly, conspiratorial narratives are often regarded as both a most probable scenario (by people who subscribe to conspiratorial beliefs) and a least probable account of events (by others). In a similar fashion, people who are inclined toward conspiratorial thinking might believe to be "critical freethinkers" themselves (Lantian et al, 2021), while being regarded as gullible by others ( van Prooijen, 2019). Psychological researchers have intensified their effort to understand the complexities of these radically opposing perceptions, and in doing so have amassed an impressive body of knowledge on personality traits, cognitive styles and worldviews that are frequently associated with beliefs in conspiracy theories (for an overview see Douglas et al, 2017;Goreis and Voracek, 2019;Lantian et al, 2020).…”

Stakes of Knowing the Truth: A Motivational Perspective on the Popularity of a Controversial Scientific Theory

“…They foster a feeling of being able to understand the world from a global point of view rather than from a subjective and necessarily limited perspective. For instance, people are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories when they involve events that they feel the need to explain (Lantian et al, 2021), or target groups they perceive as culturally or politically threatening (Nera et al, 2021). In addition, people are more attracted to conspiracy theories when important psychological needs are frustrated, for instance when feeling socially excluded (Graeupner and Coman, 2017).…”