Tearing apart the “evil” twins: A general conspiracy mentality is not the same as specific conspiracy beliefs

The stock market is rigged? Conspiracy beliefs and distrust predict lower stock market participation

“…Although conspiracy beliefs and conspiracy mentality were significantly correlated, r = .645, df = 11, 95% CI [.145, .882], p = .0173, as shown in Figure 1, there appears to be qualitative differences in the endorsement on conspiracy mentality and belief across countries, which is consistent with argument that both constructs do not necessarily tap into the same concept (Imhoff, Bertlich, & Frenken, 2022). [Correction added on September 12, 2022, after first online publication.…”

“…The current research did not fully focus on how conspiracy mentality is associated with conspiracy beliefs. In fact, although correlated, there are qualitative differences between conspiracy beliefs and conspiracy mentality (Imhoff, Bertlich, & Frenken, 2022). The exploratory finding shows that a general conspiracy mentality is also negatively associated with stock market participation rates although the association was not significant.…”

“…Increasing evidence points to the existence of a general conspiracy mentality (or mind‐set), which is a stable, psychological trait that predisposes some individuals to view the world through a conspiratorial lens, making them suspect that virtually any disturbing socio‐political event is a product of plots and hoaxes (Brotherton et al, 2013; Bruder et al, 2013; Imhoff & Bruder, 2014; Uscinski et al, 2016). While the general conspiracy mentality and endorsement of conspiracy beliefs are correlated, emerging evidence shows that they are not interchangeable constructs (Imhoff, Bertlich, & Frenken, 2022).…”

Malevolent intentions and secret coordination. Dissecting cognitive processes in conspiracy beliefs via diffusion modeling

“…from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree". The scale is relatively stable, shows high predictive validity for beliefs in specific conspiracy theories (often as the strongest predictor in multiple regressions) and discriminant validity to other political constructs like right-wing authoritarianism or social dominance orientation (Dyrendal et al, 2021;Imhoff, Bertlich, & Frenken, 2022;Imhoff & Bruder, 2014).…”

An interpretation of meta-analytical evidence for the link between collective narcissism and conspiracy theories

“…We present comprehensive meta-analytical evidence for the association of collective narcissism and a vast array of conspiracy theories as well as generic conspiracy thinking, i.e., a propensity to form suspicions about malevolent collective agents [8,9]. The association between collective narcissism and conspiracy theories is robust but moderated by the content of conspiracy theories.…”