Belief in conspiracy theories: The influence of uncertainty and perceived morality

Inthe presentresearch,weexaminedpeople’s tendencytoendorseorquestion beliefinconspiracy theories.Intwo studies,wetested the hypothesis that the perceived morality of authorities influences conspiracy beliefs, particularly when people experience uncertainty. Study 1 revealed that information about the morality of oil companies influenced beliefs that these companies were involved in planning the war in Iraq, but only when uncertainty was made salient. Similar findings were obtained in Study 2, which focused on a bogus newspaper article about a fatal car accident of a political leader in an African country. It is concluded that uncertainty leads people to make inferences about the plausibility or implausibility of conspiracy theories by attending to morality information. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. In contemporary society, people are frequently faced with events that threaten the social order, such as terrorist attacks, wars, and economic crises. These events sometimes give rise to conspiracy theories, which can be defined as explanatory beliefs that involve a number of actors who join together in secret agreement, and try to achieve a hidden goal that is perceived as unlawful or malevolent (Zonis & Joseph, 1994; p. 448–449). These conspiring actors typically pertain to legitimate power holders or insti