People who believe in conspiracy theories are also more likely to believe in pseudoscience and paranormal phenomena, according to new research published in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology.
The findings indicate that some people appear to have a general susceptibility to believing unsubstantiated claims.
In this new study, we have used these measures to examine the interesting question of how general is the acceptance of these unsubstantiated claims.”.
The researchers surveyed 286 psychology undergraduate students regarding their paranormal beliefs, endorsement of conspiracies, factual knowledge about psychology, and acceptance of pseudoscience.
Bensley and his colleagues found that participants who endorsed general conspiracist ideas also tended to believe the debunked and fabricated conspiracy theories.
In addition, participants who believed the debunked and fabricated conspiracy theories also tended to believe in other non-conspiratorial unsubstantiated claims, including pseudoscience, poorly-supported psychological practices, and paranormal phenomena.
“Our research and other studies also show that endorsement of conspiracy theories, paranormal and pseudoscientific claims and psychological misconceptions are each very common. »
