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A new study by a team of authors from the Institute of Experimental Psychology of the Center for Social and Psychological Sciences of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (ÚEP CSPV SAS) and foreign co-authors brings important findings about the negative impacts of believing in conspiracy theories. Longitudinal research shows that not only can feelings of threat increase the tendency to believe in conspiracy theories, but the opposite is also true – conspiracy theories themselves can contribute to people perceiving their lives as increasingly uncertain.

The research, which included more than 900 participants and was published in the prestigious scientific journal British Journal of Social Psychology, examined the relationships between trust in institutions, feelings of financial (in)security, and belief in conspiracy theories. The authors used a longitudinal method – data collection with the same participants took place three times between 2021 and 2023. This approach allows us to monitor not only the relationships between variables, but also how they change over time.

“The most interesting finding of our study is that a sense of uncertainty – that is, the subjective feeling that our lives are unstable and threatened - can appear only after we start to believe in conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories are not just unfounded beliefs, but a way of interpreting reality. They teach us to see the world as a place full of hidden manipulations, hostile elites, and malicious intentions,” explains study co-author Lena Adamus.

There is nothing random in such a picture of the world, and no crisis is neutral. If someone believes that public institutions lie, experts are corrupt, and political decisions serve vested interests, it becomes very difficult to remain calm about one’s economic or personal future.

Conspiracy theories thus function as lenses that obscure reality. They do not have to worsen objective living conditions; they only worsen people’s interpretation of them.

Trust in institutions also plays a significant role. The results show that the relationship between distrust in institutions and belief in conspiracy theories is extremely strong, stable over time, and bidirectional. Distrust in institutions can reinforce conspiracy beliefs, which in turn can further undermine trust in institutions.

“In practice, this means that a vicious circle can be created: the less we trust institutions, the more easily we accept conspiracy theories, and the more we accept them, the more we feel that institutions cannot be trusted. This can lead to a persistent suspicious mindset, where distrust becomes the default way of thinking about the world,” adds study co-author Eva Ballová Mikušková.

The results also suggest broader societal consequences. In an environment where conspiracy theories deepen the feeling of uncertainty and weaken trust in institutions, they can become an effective tool for political manipulation. It is not necessary to destroy an economic or political rival – it is enough to undermine citizens’ trust in their own country and convince them that the future is inevitably bleak.

Conspiracy theories are thus not only a symptom of crises, but can also become their cause. They influence how people think about their present, their future, institutions, and democracy itself.

You can read more about the research on the blog of the institute

Link to the research:

Adamus, M., Šrol, J., Ballová Mikušková, E., Adam-Troian, J., & Chayinska, M. (2026). Longitudinal analysis shows possible distinct patterns of associations between conspiracy beliefs and either institutional distrust or the sense of precarity. British Journal of Social Psychology, 65, e70036. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.70036

Compiled by: Jozef Bednár

Photo: canva.com