Are Republicans and Conservatives More Likely to Believe Conspiracy Theories?
Are Republicans and Conservatives More Likely to Believe Conspiracy Theories?
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DOI：
10.1007/s11109-022-09812-3
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发表时间：
2022-07-22
影响因子：
3.9
通讯作者：
Drochon, Hugo
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Enders, Adam;Farhart, Christina;Miller, Joanne;Uscinski, Joseph;Saunders, Kyle;Drochon, Hugo
大量文献可以追溯到理查德·霍夫施塔特（Richard Hofstadter）的《偏执风格》（The Paranoid Style，1964），认为共和党人和保守派比民主党和自由派更有可能相信阴谋论。然而，支持这一主张的证据好坏参半。由于阴谋论信仰与危险的倾向和行为有关，社会科学家必须更好地理解阴谋论和政治倾向之间的联系。我们对 2012 年至 2021 年期间对美国人进行的 20 项调查（总计 n = 37,776）以及对跨越六大洲的另外 20 个国家（总计 n = 26,416）进行了调查，对不对称论点进行了广泛的调查。首先，我们考察了 52 种阴谋论信仰与美国党派和意识形态之间的关系；对另外 20 个国家的 11 种阴谋论信仰的检验证实了这一分析。在我们的第二个测试中，我们保持所调查的阴谋论的内容不变——仅操纵理论上的恶棍的党派之争——以破译左派或右派是否更有可能指责政治外群体密谋。最后，我们考察了十年来政治倾向与相信阴谋论的普遍倾向之间的相关性。我们在任何情况下都没有观察到政治不对称的系统证据。相反，政治倾向和阴谋主义之间关系的强度和方向取决于研究人员所采用的特定阴谋信仰的特征以及考虑这些想法的社会政治背景。在线版本包含可在 10.1007/s11109-022-09812-3 获取的补充材料。
A sizable literature tracing back to Richard Hofstadter’s The Paranoid Style (1964) argues that Republicans and conservatives are more likely to believe conspiracy theories than Democrats and liberals. However, the evidence for this proposition is mixed. Since conspiracy theory beliefs are associated with dangerous orientations and behaviors, it is imperative that social scientists better understand the connection between conspiracy theories and political orientations. Employing 20 surveys of Americans from 2012 to 2021 (total n = 37,776), as well as surveys of 20 additional countries spanning six continents (total n = 26,416), we undertake an expansive investigation of the asymmetry thesis. First, we examine the relationship between beliefs in 52 conspiracy theories and both partisanship and ideology in the U.S.; this analysis is buttressed by an examination of beliefs in 11 conspiracy theories across 20 more countries. In our second test, we hold constant the content of the conspiracy theories investigated—manipulating only the partisanship of the theorized villains—to decipher whether those on the left or right are more likely to accuse political out-groups of conspiring. Finally, we inspect correlations between political orientations and the general predisposition to believe in conspiracy theories over the span of a decade. In no instance do we observe systematic evidence of a political asymmetry. Instead, the strength and direction of the relationship between political orientations and conspiricism is dependent on the characteristics of the specific conspiracy beliefs employed by researchers and the socio-political context in which those ideas are considered. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11109-022-09812-3.