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Student Research Guide SPQ25/ Dangers of Conspiratorial Thinking

M. Miller

Top 10 Resources

  • OPEN ACCESS RESEARCH ARTICLE: Brotherton, Robert, and Christopher C. French. “Belief in Conspiracy Theories and Susceptibility to the Conjunction Fallacy.” Applied Cognitive Psychology, vol. 28, no. 2, 2014, pp. 238–48, https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.2995. 
    • From this research article, I learned about the conjunction fallacy (the fallacy of saying two unrelated events must be connected), proportionality bias (the belief that a large event must have been caused by something equally as large), and their connection to conspiracy beliefs.
    • Robert Brotherton and Christopher C French are both psychologists and graduates from the University of London. Applied Cognitive Psychology is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal and has covered experimental research in cognitive psychology since 1987.
  • OPEN ACCESS SCHOLARLY ARTICLE: Flaxman, S., Goel, S., & Rao, J. M. (2016). Filter bubbles, Echo Chambers, and online news consumption. Public Opinion Quarterly, 80(S1), 298–320. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfw006  
    • This Article talks extensively about online echo chambers and news consumption, which often lead people into a spiral of conspiratorial thinking, and are tied very closely to modern conspiracy theories.
    • Public Opinion Quarterly is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press, which has covered political science, current public opinion, and survey research since 1937.

  • INTERNET WEBSITE: Kennedy, Brian. “Americans’ Trust in Scientists, Positive Views of Science Continue to Decline.” Pew Research Center, 14 Nov. 2023, www.pewresearch.org/science/2023/11/14/americans-trust-in-scientists-positive-views-of-science-continue-to-decline/.  
    • The research data from this website shows a decline in trust in science and medicine since 2020, largely caused by the conspiracy theories from that year. This is important because it shows how conspiracy theories can directly affect the American people and the dangers that can come from them.
    • Pew Research Center was founded in 2004 as a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes, and trends shaping the world. 

  • OPEN ACCESS SCHOLARLY ARTICLE: Kisa, Adnan, and Sezer Kisa. "Health Conspiracy Theories: A Scoping Review of Drivers, Impacts, and Countermeasures." International Journal for Equity in Health, vol. 24, 2025, p. 93, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-025-02451-0.  
    • This article, published April 2025, discusses the dangers of conspiracy theories targeting health organisations. It provides research and evidence related to their dangers, and some possible solutions. 
    • International Journal for Equity in Health was founded in 2002 and discusses equity in political, policy-related, economic, social, and health systems.

  • INTERNET WEBSITE: Orth, Taylor. “Which Conspiracy Theories Do Americans Believe?” YouGov, 8 Dec. 2023, https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/48113-which-conspiracy-theories-do-americans-believe.  
    • This internet article provided the graph shown earlier, discussing the most popular conspiracy theories among Americans. This was very interesting because it shows just how many people are affected by conspiracy theories, along with research based on political parties and methodology.
    • YouGov is an international data analytics firm founded in 2002. With operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

  • OPEN ACCESS RESEARCH ARTICLE: Ren, Zhiying (Bella), Eugen Dimant, and Maurice E. Schweitzer. “Beyond Belief: How Social Engagement Motives Influence the Spread of Conspiracy Theories.” SSRN, 8 Sept. 2021, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3919364. 
    • This research article from 2021 conducted three studies and found that people knowingly share conspiracy theories online for social engagement and likes. This is important because it shows how social media can have a direct effect on the spread of conspiracies.
    • SSRN is an open-access platform for preprints and scholarly research in the social sciences, humanities, and related fields, founded in 1994.

  • INTERNET WEBSITE: Shearer, Elisa. “Republicans Have Become More Likely since 2024 to Trust Information from News Outlets, Social Media.” Pew Research Center, 8 May 2025, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/05/08/republicans-have-become-more-likely-since-2024-to-trust-information-from-news-outlets-social-media/.   
    • This research from the Pew Research Center (mentioned earlier) shows a slight increase in trust among republicans toward news outlets, which fell dramatically from 2020 to 2024, due to conspiracy theories surrounding the pandemic. However, the attribute the increase with the re-election of Donald Trump, who has been known to spread conspiracy theories. It's interesting because it gives insight into how conspiracy theories could change in the future.

  • INTERNET WEBSITE: Spring, Marianna. “‘Stop the Steal’: The Deep Roots of Trump’s ‘voter fraud’ Strategy.” BBC News, BBC, 23 Nov. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-55009950.  
    • This article from 2020 covers a narrative of what led up to the January 6 Capitol riot. It’s important because it speaks about the effect conspiracy theories had on American citizens and their escalation to violence.
    • The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster which was founded in 1992. Their mission is to serve public interest by providing impartial, high-quality, services that inform, educate, and entertain.

  • OPEN ACCESS SCHOLARLY ARTICLE: Van Prooijen, Jan‐Willem. “Why Education Predicts Decreased Belief in Conspiracy Theories.” Applied Cognitive Psychology, vol. 31, no. 1, 28 Nov. 2016, pp. 50–58, https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3301.
    • This article from Applied Cognitive Psychology (mentioned earlier) gives interesting research that shows a direct correlation between belief in conspiracy theories and lower education. It also makes the connection that people who believe in conspiracy theories are also less trusting of those with a higher education, especially in medical fields, which could lead to circular reasoning.

Top Recommended Keywords/Search Terms on the Topic

Below are some keywords/search terms I would recommend to anyone wanting to do further research. 

  1. "Conspiracy theories" OR Conspiracies AND "Mental health"
  2. "Proportionality bias" AND "Conjunction Fallacy"
  3.  Patternicity
  4. "Confirmation bias"
  5. "Social media" AND "Echo Chambers"
  6. "Conspiracy theories" AND violence OR harms
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