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Do voting and election outcomes predict changes in conspiracy beliefs? Evidence from two high-profile U.S. elections
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology ( IF 3.532 ) Pub Date : 2022-08-16 , DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104396
Sangmin Kim, Olga Stavrova, Kathleen D. Vohs

Despite widespread recognition that conspiracy theories carry the potential for serious harm, relatively little research has investigated possible antidotes to conspiracy beliefs. Previous theorizing posits that belief in conspiracy theories is driven in part by existential motives related to a sense of control and social motives aimed at maintaining a positive image of oneself and one's ingroup. Using electoral contests as the context, we investigated whether the act of voting (i.e., addressing existential motives) and seeing one's preferred candidate win (i.e., addressing social motives) were associated with a reduction in conspiracy beliefs. In two two-wave studies of high-profile U.S. elections, we measured endorsement of conspiracy beliefs before the election and after the results were known, thereby tracking change in conspiracy belief endorsement over time. Both Study 1 (2020 U.S. Presidential election) and Study 2 (2021 Georgia Senate runoff election) showed a significant decrease in conspiracy beliefs among people who supported the winning candidate, consistent with the importance of social motives. The findings highlight the merits of one's political ideology receiving support and recognition for potentially abating conspiracy beliefs.



中文翻译:

投票和选举结果能预测阴谋信念的变化吗?来自两次备受瞩目的美国大选的证据

尽管人们普遍认识到阴谋论可能造成严重伤害,但对阴谋论可能的解毒剂的研究相对较少。以前的理论假设认为,对阴谋论的信仰部分是由与控制感相关的存在动机和旨在维持自己和自己的内群的积极形象的社会动机驱动的。以选举竞赛为背景,我们调查了投票行为(即解决存在动机)和看到自己喜欢的候选人获胜(即解决社会动机)是否与阴谋信念的减少有关。在对备受瞩目的美国大选的两项两波研究中,我们测量了在大选之前和结果公布之后对阴谋论的认可,从而跟踪阴谋信念背书随时间的变化。研究 1(2020 年美国总统选举)和研究 2(2021 年佐治亚州参议院决选)都显示,支持获胜候选人的人的阴谋信念显着下降,这与社会动机的重要性相一致。调查结果强调了一个人的政治意识形态因可能减少阴谋信念而获得支持和认可的优点。

更新日期:2022-08-16
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