Replication Data for: Conspiracy Endorsement as Motivated Reasoning: The Moderating Roles of Political Knowledge and Trust

Given the potential political and social significance of conspiracy beliefs, a substantial and growing body of work examines the individual-level correlates of belief in individual conspiracy theories and general conspiratorial predispositions. However, although we know much about the psychological antecedents of conspiracy endorsement, we know less about the individual-level political causes of these prevalent and consequential beliefs. Our work draws from the extant literature to posit that endorsement of conspiracy theories is a motivated process that serves both ideological and psychological needs. In doing so, we develop a theory that identifies a particular type of person—one who is both highly knowledgeable about politics and lacking in trust—who is most susceptible to ideologically-motivated conspiracy endorsement. Further, we demonstrate that the moderators of belief in conspiracy theories are strikingly different for conservatives and liberals.

鉴于阴谋论信念具有潜在的政治与社会意义，学界已积累了大量且日益增长的研究，探讨个体层面上，对具体阴谋论的信念与一般性阴谋倾向之间的相关关系。然而，尽管学界对阴谋论认同的心理前因已有较为充分的认知，但对于这类普遍且影响深远的信念，其个体层面的政治成因仍所知甚少。本研究依托现有文献提出假设：对阴谋论的认同是一种兼具意识形态与心理需求的动机性过程。基于此，我们构建了一套理论，识别出一类最易受意识形态动机驱动而认同阴谋论的人群：这类人群既具备极高的政治知识水平，同时又缺乏信任感。此外，我们的研究表明，影响阴谋论信念的调节变量在保守派与自由派群体中存在显著差异。