Addicted to answers : need for cognitive closure and the endorsement of conspiracy beliefs

doi:10.1002/ejsp.2308

Addicted to answers : need for cognitive closure and ...

Bibliographic description

punktacja MNiSW [2018 A]: 30

title:	Addicted to answers : need for cognitive closure and the endorsement of conspiracy beliefs
author:	Marchlewska Marta, Cichocka Aleksandra, Kossowska Małgorzata
Journal title:	European Journal of Social Psychology
volume:	48
issue:	2
date of publication:	2018
pages:	109-117
ISSN:	0046-2772
eISSN:	1099-0992
DOI:	10.1002/ejsp.2308
language:	English
Journal language:	English
abstract in english:	Conspiracy theories offer simple answers to complex problems by providing explanations for uncertain situations. Thus, they should be attractive to individuals who are intolerant of uncertainty and seek cognitive closure. We hypothesized that need for cognitive closure (NFCC) should foster conspiracy beliefs about events that lack clear official explanations, especially when conspiracy theories are temporarily salient. In Experiment 1, NFCC positively predicted the endorsement of a conspiracy theory behind the refugee crisis, especially when conspiratorial explanations were made salient. Experiment 2 showed that when conspiratorial explanations were made salient, NFCC positively predicted beliefs in conspiracies behind a mysterious plane crash. However, the link between NFCC and beliefs in conspiratorial explanations was reversed in the case of a plane crash with an official, non-conspiratorial, explanation for the accident. In conclusion, people high (vs. low) in NFCC seize on conspiratorial explanations for uncertain events when such explanations are situationally accessible.
keywords in english:	conspiracy beliefs, uncertainty threat, need for cognitive closure
affiliation:	Wydział Filozoficzny : Instytut Psychologii
type:	journal article
subtype:	academic paper