The Social Identity Motives Behind Conspiracy Beliefs and Intentions

The main aim of this thesis is to explore the role that social motives play in the formation of conspiracist beliefs and intentions. Chapter 1 provides an overview of past work on the group processes and intergroup relations associated with conspiracy beliefs. Subsequent chapters use a social psychological perspective to answer three related questions: 1) what are the social motives associated with conspiracy beliefs (Chapter 2), 2) which ideological and identity motives are associated with conspiracy beliefs among members of social groups of different status (Chapter 3), and 3) can social identity motives help us understand how certain individuals not only believe in conspiracy theories, but are also willing to engage in conspiratorial plots (Chapter 4)? I have applied meta-analytic techniques to answer the first question, showing that conspiracy beliefs appear to be born out of attempts to enhance and defend the self-image, compensate for feelings of social exclusion, and defend the group image. I used multigroup analysis of cross-sectional survey designs to investigate the second question, showing that ethnic collective narcissism is underpinned by opposing ideologies depending on the social status of the group in question. Finally, I used standard regression analyses of similar cross-sectional survey designs to inform our understanding of the third question, showing that collective narcissists are not only particularly willing to believe in conspiracy theories, but they are also willing to conspire against fellow ingroup members. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed, including the need to implement more experimental or longitudinal designs.