Cognitive Reflection and Endorsement of the “Great Replacement” Conspiracy Theory
According to the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, mass immigration to Europe and the U.S. is part of a secret plot to replace the autochthonous White and Christian population with non-White and Muslim immigrants. With the aim of exploring psychological factors that play a role in believing in...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology
2023-06-01
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Series: | Social Psychological Bulletin |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.32872/spb.10825 |
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author | Alexander Jedinger Lena Masch Axel M. Burger |
author_facet | Alexander Jedinger Lena Masch Axel M. Burger |
author_sort | Alexander Jedinger |
collection | DOAJ |
description | According to the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, mass immigration to Europe and the U.S. is part of a secret plot to replace the autochthonous White and Christian population with non-White and Muslim immigrants. With the aim of exploring psychological factors that play a role in believing in the “great replacement” theory, the present research focused on individual differences in reflective thinking. Using data from a cross-sectional study (N = 906), we found that cognitive reflection was negatively associated with belief in the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, even when political ideology and sociodemographic characteristics were controlled in the analysis. The findings highlight the key role of reflective thinking in countering conspiracy theories. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:45:35Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-330b565e95f042d1a65528d634ea4aa1 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2569-653X |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:45:35Z |
publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
publisher | PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology |
record_format | Article |
series | Social Psychological Bulletin |
spelling | doaj.art-330b565e95f042d1a65528d634ea4aa12024-02-08T10:54:06ZengPsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for PsychologySocial Psychological Bulletin2569-653X2023-06-011810.32872/spb.10825spb.10825Cognitive Reflection and Endorsement of the “Great Replacement” Conspiracy TheoryAlexander Jedinger0Lena Masch1Axel M. Burger2GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Cologne, GermanyOtto-Suhr-Institute of Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, GermanyGESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Mannheim, GermanyAccording to the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, mass immigration to Europe and the U.S. is part of a secret plot to replace the autochthonous White and Christian population with non-White and Muslim immigrants. With the aim of exploring psychological factors that play a role in believing in the “great replacement” theory, the present research focused on individual differences in reflective thinking. Using data from a cross-sectional study (N = 906), we found that cognitive reflection was negatively associated with belief in the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, even when political ideology and sociodemographic characteristics were controlled in the analysis. The findings highlight the key role of reflective thinking in countering conspiracy theories.https://doi.org/10.32872/spb.10825analytical cognitive styleconspiracy beliefsimmigrantsimmigration policygreat replacement |
spellingShingle | Alexander Jedinger Lena Masch Axel M. Burger Cognitive Reflection and Endorsement of the “Great Replacement” Conspiracy Theory Social Psychological Bulletin analytical cognitive style conspiracy beliefs immigrants immigration policy great replacement |
title | Cognitive Reflection and Endorsement of the “Great Replacement” Conspiracy Theory |
title_full | Cognitive Reflection and Endorsement of the “Great Replacement” Conspiracy Theory |
title_fullStr | Cognitive Reflection and Endorsement of the “Great Replacement” Conspiracy Theory |
title_full_unstemmed | Cognitive Reflection and Endorsement of the “Great Replacement” Conspiracy Theory |
title_short | Cognitive Reflection and Endorsement of the “Great Replacement” Conspiracy Theory |
title_sort | cognitive reflection and endorsement of the great replacement conspiracy theory |
topic | analytical cognitive style conspiracy beliefs immigrants immigration policy great replacement |
url | https://doi.org/10.32872/spb.10825 |
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