Consequences of Conspiracy Beliefs for Interpersonal Relationships

Emerging theorising and growing anecdotal evidence suggest that belief in conspiracy theories may negatively impact interpersonal relationships. However, research on the consequences of conspiracy beliefs has not systematically assessed their effect on people’s relationships. In this presentation, I will share findings from three different research projects that quantitatively and qualitatively investigate the role of conspiracy beliefs in interpersonal relationships. The first project examines whether perceptions of others’ conspiracy beliefs are linked to actual (or anticipated) relationship satisfaction. The second project uses a qualitative approach to assess personal accounts of individuals who shared or are sharing romantic relationships with conspiracy believers. The third project shifts the focus to prospective relationships in the context of online dating, addressing how the inclusion of conspiracy theories in dating profiles influences people’s impressions and dating intentions. Taken together, our results suggest that conspiracy beliefs can erode interpersonal relationships where such beliefs are not shared, whereas relationships between individuals with shared conspiracy beliefs remain unaffected or may even be strengthened. On May 21st, 2025 Dr. Daniel Toribio-Flórez, Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Psychology, University of Kent spoke at the ZPID Colloquium. Am 21. Mai 2025 sprach Dr. Daniel Toribio-Flórez, Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Psychology, University of Kent, im ZPID-Kolloquium. unknown