How belief in conspiracy theories could harm sustainability
An international team of psychologists—Jakub Šrol (Institute of Experimental Psychology, Centre of Social and Psychological Sciences of the Slovak Academy of Sciences), Jan-Willem van Prooijen (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), and Marina Maglić (Ivo Pilar Institute, Zagreb)—published an article on Monday in the prestigious journal Nature Human Behavior titled: "ow belief in conspiracy theories could harm sustainability."
The article presents the results of a review study in which the authors summarize current research findings on how conspiracy beliefs can damage the sustainability of modern societies.
„We understand sustainability in the broad sense as the ability of human communities to meet their present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. Therefore, we don’t focus solely on the environmental aspect, but also on the social and economic pillars of sustainability. The article presents two ways in which conspiracy theories can harm sustainability. Repeated exposure to conspiracy theories can either directly reduce people's sustainable attitudes and behaviors, or conspiracy beliefs may serve to justify and excuse individuals' own attitudes and behaviors that undermine sustainability,“ says Jakub Šrol of the Institute of Experimental Psychology, Centre of Social and Psychological Sciences of the SAS.
The authors argue that current research on conspiracy beliefs provides evidence that belief in conspiracy theories can undermine:
Social sustainability: by damaging relationships between individuals and groups in society, contributing to social polarization, undermining public health (e.g., reducing willingness to get vaccinated), and even threatening fundamental human rights by eroding trust in institutions that guarantee those rights;
Environmental sustainability: by reducing support for limiting greenhouse gas emissions, investing in clean energy sources, or protecting vulnerable ecosystems;
Economic sustainability: by weakening trust and cooperation between individuals and communities, reducing support for technological innovation, and damaging international relations—an essential component for a healthy functioning global market.
The authors also emphasize gaps in current understanding of how conspiracy theories affect sustainability and highlight the need for further research. One limitation of current research is that it is predominantly conducted in Western countries (such as the USA or the UK), making it important to gather more data from countries underrepresented in this area, such as those in the Global South.
„Different conspiracy theories may influence sustainability in different ways, and it’s not impossible that some specific conspiracy theories could even have a positive impact in this regard. This could occur, for instance, in countries where high levels of corruption or abuse of power by public officials already contribute to poor sustainability outcomes. Nonetheless, we emphasize that existing research overwhelmingly points to the predominantly negative consequences of conspiracy theories for people’s attitudes and behaviors across social, environmental, and economic sustainability domains,“ added Šrol.
Edited by Monika Tináková
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