[{"_id":"project:2702","_type":"project","abstract":{"en":"Education is a key factor in meeting the challenge caused to society by misinformation and disinformation (the so callled \"infodemics\"). The project aims at developing media and information literacy among high school students. The intervention consists of two main components: an app called “bad news” and a training (TIDaCT: Training in identifying Disinformation and Conspiracy Tehories). Specifically, the study will investige 1) pre, post and follow-up differences between experiment groups (app+, TIDaCT) in media and information literacy, beliefs in conspiracy theories, analytical thinking, rejection of science, (2) within-group differences for the experimental groups in these variables, and (3) evaluate the usability of the multi-module intervention through a qualititative approach with the use of focus groups. In cooperation with the municipality of Halmstad, altogether eight high school classes will be recruited for the study. They will be randomly placed in four experiment groups (app+, TIDaCT) and four inactive control groups. Swedish versions of the following measuring tools are used:  The Generic Conspiracist Belief Scale (GCBS; Brotherton et al., 2013), Rational-Experiential Inventory (REI-40; Pacini & Espstein, 1999; Björklund & Bäckström, 2008), Rejection of Science (Lewandowsky, Gignac, & Oberauer, 2013), and Media Literacy Skills Scale (MLSS; Eristi & Erdem, 2017)."},"project_id":"2021-06266_VR","identifier_short":"2021-06266","dates":{"start_date":"2021-12-01","end_date":"2024-11-30"},"organizations":[{"funding":[{"_id":2,"id":"202100-5208","sv":"Vetenskapsrådet","en":"Swedish Research Council"}]},{"coordinating":[{"_id":2804,"id":"202100-3203","sv":"Högskolan i Halmstad","en":"Halmstad University"}]}],"people":[{"project_leaders":[{"_id":"authority-person:53727","name":"Josefsson, Torbjörn","role":"principal_investigator","affiliation":[{"_id":16903,"sv":"Akademin för hälsa och välfärd","en":"School of Health and Welfare","parent":[{"_id":2804,"id":"202100-3203","sv":"Högskolan i Halmstad","en":"Halmstad University"}]}]}]},{"other_personnel":[{"_id":"authority-person:55655","orcid":"0000-0002-0091-2005","name":"Karlsson, Peter","role":"co_investigator","affiliation":[{"_id":16903,"sv":"Akademin för hälsa och välfärd","en":"School of Health and Welfare","parent":[{"_id":2804,"id":"202100-3203","sv":"Högskolan i Halmstad","en":"Halmstad University"}]}]},{"_id":"authority-person:33655","orcid":"0000-0002-4697-5394","name":"Andersson, Linus","role":"co_investigator","affiliation":[{"_id":16903,"sv":"Akademin för hälsa och välfärd","en":"School of Health and Welfare","parent":[{"_id":2804,"id":"202100-3203","sv":"Högskolan i Halmstad","en":"Halmstad University"}]}]},{"_id":"authority-person:61479","orcid":"0000-0003-4759-7505","name":"Svensson, Sara","role":"co_investigator","affiliation":[{"_id":16902,"sv":"Akademin för lärande, humaniora och samhälle","en":"School of Education, Humanities and Social Science","parent":[{"_id":2804,"id":"202100-3203","sv":"Högskolan i Halmstad","en":"Halmstad University"}]}]},{"_id":"authority-person:61511","name":"Bilstrup, Urban","role":"co_investigator","affiliation":[{"_id":16904,"sv":"Akademin för informationsteknologi","en":"School of Information Technology","parent":[{"_id":2804,"id":"202100-3203","sv":"Högskolan i Halmstad","en":"Halmstad University"}]}]}]}],"tags":[{"_id":11737,"id":"50102","sv":"Tillämpad psykologi","en":"Applied Psychology"},{"_id":11756,"id":"50601","sv":"Statsvetenskap (exklusive studier av offentlig förvaltning och globaliseringsstudier)","en":"Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalization Studies)"},{"_id":11764,"id":"50802","sv":"Kommunikationsvetenskap","en":"Communication Studies"}],"titles":{"sv":"Effekter av en intervention avsedd att hantera felaktig information, desinformation och konspirationsteorier","en":"Effects of an intervention designed for identifying misinformation, desinformation and conspiracy theories"},"total_funding":"4153000","type_of_awards":{"sv":"Projektbidrag","en":"Project grant"},"publications":[{"id":"diva2:2062015","type":"article-journal","status":"Epub ahead of print","issued":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"title":"Latent Profile Analysis of Generic Conspiracy Beliefs‐ Differences in Science Acceptance, Analytical and Intuitive Thinking","language":"eng","author":[{"family":"Karlsson","given":"Peter","ORCID":"0000-0002-0091-2005","localId":"peka","affiliation":[{"id":"16903","name":"Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för hälsa och välfärd"}]},{"family":"Josefsson","given":"Torbjörn","ORCID":"0000-0001-7418-9115","localId":"tojo","affiliation":[{"id":"16903","name":"Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för hälsa och välfärd"}]},{"family":"Svensson","given":"Sara","ORCID":"0000-0003-4759-7505","localId":"sarsve","affiliation":[{"id":"16902","name":"Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för lärande, humaniora och samhälle"}]},{"family":"Andersson","given":"Linus","ORCID":"0000-0002-4697-5394","localId":"linand","affiliation":[{"id":"16903","name":"Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för hälsa och välfärd"}]}],"abstract":"The aims of the present study were to (i) identify profiles of belief in conspiracy theories, and to (ii) test whether the obtainedprofiles differed in analytical (rational ability, rational engagement, Cognitive Reflection Test) and intuitive thinking (experientialability, experiential engagement), and science denial (vaccine, climate science). In total, 451 participants (Mean age = 30.80,SD = 16.59, 61% female) were recruited from high-schoolsand social media groups. The participants completed questionnairesand performance tests of the study variables. The Latent Profile Analysis identified four distinct profiles that showed consistentand distinct response patterns over all five subscales of the Generic Conspiracy Belief Scale, with no overlap between the profiles,ranging from low (Profile 1) to strong conspiracy beliefs (Profile 4). Profile 1 was the largest class (38.14%), whilst Profile 4 wasthe smallest class (8.61%). The analyses further revealed that no differences were found between profiles in analytical thinking,measured by the performance-basedcognitive reflection test. However, profile differences were found for self-reportedanalyticalthinking, intuitive thinking, and science denial. Overall, less conspiracy beliefs were accompanied by less intuitive thinkingand higher acceptance of climate and vaccine science. Somewhat unexpectedly, participants who held the strongest conspiracybeliefs (Profile 4) as well as those who had the lowest beliefs in conspiracy theories (Profile 1) reported higher levels of analyticalthinking, compared with the other two profiles, suggesting that people who most strongly endorse conspiracy theories reporthigh use of both analytical and intuitive thinking styles. A potential explanation may be that conspiracy beliefs initially originatethrough intuitive thinking, while analytical thinking can be used to maintain and justify these beliefs through, for instance,motivated reasoning. © 2026 The Author(s).","DOI":"10.1111/sjop.70120","PMID":"42171299","ScopusId":"2-s2.0-105039648745","NBN":"urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-59020","page":"1-15","container-title":"Scandinavian Journal of Psychology","ISSN":"1467-9450","keyword":"analytic and intuitive thinking; conspiracy beliefs; latent profile analysis; science denial","publisher-place":"West Sussex","publisher":"John Wiley & Sons","published":[{"raw":"2026-05-25T08:56:00.000+02:00"}],"created":[{"raw":"2026-05-25T08:56:32.469+02:00"}],"updated":[{"raw":"2026-06-03T08:29:12.540+02:00"}],"URL":"https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-59020"}],"links":[{"type":"pid","link":"https://hh.diva-portal.org/smash/api/project/swecris/project:2702"}]}]