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In recent years, discussions have increased about how people in seemingly similar economic situations may perceive them differently. Their assessment depends, for example, on whether their income is regular or how high their monthly expenses are. Moreover, the level of stress from poverty will be perceived differently by someone accustomed to poverty compared to someone who has recently fallen into it. A new study by psychologists from the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) examined whether and how belief in conspiracy theories can increase feelings of economic insecurity and fear of the economic future.

"Even people who are not objectively in a bad financial situation but subjectively feel financial distress or insecurity may be more prone to believing conspiracy theories. Several studies, including ours, provide growing evidence of this relationship. Subjective feelings of economic insecurity are a stronger factor in accepting conspiracy theories than objective financial indicators such as personal income," stated Magdalena Adamus, from the Institute of Experimental Psychology, Center for Social and Psychological Sciences SAS.

Based on these studies, it can be interpreted that subjectively assessed economic situations, or economic anxiety, may be understood as a cause of accepting conspiracy theories. However, no systematic research has yet been conducted to explicitly study this relationship over a longer period while also considering the possibility that economic insecurity may also be a consequence of supporting conspiratorial beliefs, not just its cause.

"Our latest research—recently published in the prestigious journal Political Psychology—examined the temporal relationships between support for conspiratorial beliefs and economic anxiety, both at the individual level and across entire countries. Using data from the European Social Survey (ESS), we worked with data not only from Slovakia but also from 16 other countries. We found that belief in conspiracy theories was significantly associated with higher levels of economic anxiety across different cultural contexts," explained Eva Ballová Mikušková, from the Institute of Experimental Psychology, Center for Social and Psychological Sciences SAS.

When analyzing data only from the Slovak sample collected in three different time periods, researchers found that accepting conspiratorial beliefs intensified feelings of economic insecurity over time. This means that the more conspiracy-based explanations people accept, the more their perceived economic anxiety deepens. By applying both perspectives—economic anxiety as a cause and as a consequence of conspiratorial beliefs—the research provided new evidence that supporting conspiracy beliefs can negatively affect the subjective evaluation of one's economic situation on both an individual and national level.

"Although it may seem that conspiracy theories help people understand and find meaning in difficult situations, our research shows the opposite—belief in conspiracy theories increases economic anxiety and pessimism about the economic future. Conspiratorial beliefs should not be seen only as a byproduct of human cognitive biases but also as a potential source of pessimism, anti-system sentiment, group antagonism, anxiety, and fear of economic losses," added Magdalena Adamus.

While conspiracy theories may sometimes seem like harmless stories, they can have serious social consequences, especially when used to manipulate public opinion and spread economic pessimism. Therefore, they should be viewed as a serious threat to social stability, and efforts should be made to actively combat them.

Link to a new study in the journal Political Psychology

Processed: Monika Tináková