hh.sePublications
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
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
Latent Profile Analysis of Generic Conspiracy Beliefs‐ Differences in Science Acceptance, Analytical and Intuitive Thinking
Halmstad University, School of Health and Welfare. (RECDACT)ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0091-2005
Halmstad University, School of Health and Welfare.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7418-9115
Halmstad University, School of Education, Humanities and Social Science.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4759-7505
Halmstad University, School of Health and Welfare.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4697-5394
2026 (English)In: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, ISSN 0036-5564, E-ISSN 1467-9450, p. 1-15Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

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).

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, 2026. p. 1-15
Keywords [en]
analytic and intuitive thinking, conspiracy beliefs, latent profile analysis, science denial
National Category
Psychology Media and Communications
Research subject
Smart Cities and Communities, LEADS
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-59020DOI: 10.1111/sjop.70120ISI: 001771873000001PubMedID: 42171299Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105039648745OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hh-59020DiVA, id: diva2:2062015
Part of project
Effects of an intervention designed for identifying misinformation, desinformation and conspiracy theories, Swedish Research Council
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2021‐06266Available from: 2026-05-25 Created: 2026-05-25 Last updated: 2026-06-03Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textPubMedScopus

Authority records

Karlsson, PeterJosefsson, TorbjörnSvensson, SaraAndersson, Linus

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Karlsson, PeterJosefsson, TorbjörnSvensson, SaraAndersson, Linus
By organisation
School of Health and WelfareSchool of Education, Humanities and Social Science
In the same journal
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
PsychologyMedia and Communications

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn
Total: 38 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
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