Conspiracy Belief and the association with autistic traits, schizotypy, cognitive processes, and demographics

This dataset was utilised for an exploratory study, as part of a larger PhD thesis, investigating how ASD traits, schizotypy, cognitive factors, and demographic variables relate to general conspiracy belief. It was also utilised for a smaller-scale study looking into the impact of recruitment source on participant characteristics and psychological measures in conspiracy theory research.Data was collected via social media and the online survey platform Prolific. All participants were over the age of 18, and there was no other exclusion criterion. Measures collected within the dataset include life satisfaction, job satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, political orientation, religiosity, thinking styles, cognitive flexibility, ASD traits, schizotypy, and general conspiracy beliefs. Demographics collected include age, gender, religion, education, and employment.Religiosity, life satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and job satisfaction were measured using a 10-point Likert scale. Political orientation was also measured using a one-item Likert scale where 1 is right-wing and 10 is left-wing.Thinking styles were measured using the Rational Experiential Inventory (REI-10) created by Epstein & Norris (2011). Cognitive flexibility was measured using the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI; Denis & VanDer Wal, 2010).ASD traits were measured using the short form Autism Quotient (AQ-10; Allison et al, 2012). Conspiracy Belief was measured using the Generic Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (GCBS) created by Brotherton et al (2013). Schizotypy was measured using the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale-Brief (MSS-B; Gross et al, 2013).The "RAW DATA" file is completely raw data, exported from the survey platform Qualtrics. The other Excel file is the same data, just coded for input into statistical analysis software. Also included is a plain-text document of the survey.