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Study related to the way humans think, reflect and feel about various types of information and news
Halmstad University, School of Health and Welfare.
2021 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

Science, which is based on rational thinking, is valued as the highest form of knowledge in Western society. Conspiracy theories are not based on scientific evidence and therefore often ignored from the public sphere. Yet, there is a concern over the rise of these “unwarranted beliefs”. Research has shown that belief in conspiracy theories is a result of different psychological factors and that it often correlates with other belief systems. The aim of this study was to examine if belief in conspiracy theories correlates with thinking style (measured via experiential thinking and cognitive reflection), powerlessness, belief in simple solutions, education, and attitudes toward vaccine and climate change. The study also examined if there were correlations with paranormal beliefs and pseudoscience, two other forms of beliefs which are not based on scientific evidence. 544 Swedish-speaking men and women participated in the study. Participants were recruited from public organisations, but also from general network groups, and groups with an interest in matters related to alternative theories and ideologies. All participants were 18 years or older, and Swedish speaking. Correlations of the measured variables was tested with Pearson’s simple correlations. The result showed that all variables correlated with conspiracy theories, including paranormal belief and pseudoscience. However, there was one significant difference between conspiracy theory, paranormal belief and pseudoscience. Only belief in conspiracy theories had a significant correlation with powerlessness. There is no earlier published study, which has studied all these variables together targeting the Swedish speaking population.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2021. , p. 52
Keywords [en]
Conspiracy theory, paranormal belief, pseudoscience, science rejection, thinking style, powerlessness
National Category
Health Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-44965OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hh-44965DiVA, id: diva2:1571527
Educational program
Master's Programme in Health and Lifestyle, 120 credits
Supervisors
Examiners
Available from: 2021-06-23 Created: 2021-06-22 Last updated: 2021-06-23Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

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Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf