What psychological factors drive the popularity of conspiracy theories, which explain
important events as secret plots by powerful and malevolent groups? What are the …

Surveys indicate that belief in conspiracy theories is widespread. Previous studies have
indicated that such beliefs are related to agreeableness, low levels of self esteem, certain …

The ability to attribute intentions to others is a hallmark of human social cognition but is
altered in paranoia. Paranoia is the most common positive symptom of psychosis but is also …

In this review, more than 10 years of research in conspiracy theory beliefs is summarised. As
conspiracy theories have these past years invaded the public domain in the whole world, a …

BackgroundParanoia involves thoughts and beliefs about the harmful intent of others but the
social consequences have been much less studied. We investigated whether paranoia …

Conspiracy theories explain distressing events as malevolent actions by powerful groups.
Why do people believe in secret plots when other explanations are more probable? On the …

In the last decade, the number of investigations of the beliefs in conspiracy theories has
begun to increase in the fields of social, differential, and experimental psychology. A …

Current theories argue that hyper-sensitisation of social threat perception is central to
paranoia. Affected people often also report misperceptions of group cohesion (conspiracy) …

People who strongly endorse conspiracy theories often proclaim to be rational skeptics and
“critical freethinkers” who “just ask questions.” Indeed, many well-known conspiracy theories …