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5 results

  • 1 - Understanding How Campaigns Matter

  • Kim L. Fridkin, Arizona State University, Patrick J. Kenney, Arizona State University
  • Book:
    Choices in a Chaotic Campaign
    Published online:
    16 May 2024
    Print publication:
    23 May 2024, pp 1-36

  • Summary

    In this chapter, we describe the context of the 2020 presidential election campaign, including the COVID-19 pandemic, racial justice protests, a highly contentious debate, and challenges to the integrity of the election. We review the state of the literature, showing that messages from the candidates, political parties, and the news media inform voters about the candidates’ policy positions, policy priorities, and personal characteristics. And campaign messages, via the candidates or the news media, can alter the criteria voters consider when evaluating the competing candidates. Finally, aspects of the campaign can encourage or discourage participation in the election. We turn next to presenting the citizen-centered theory of campaigns. We argue that people’s predispositions (i.e., political and psychological) drive the procurement and assimilation of information, which influence how individuals evaluate campaign events and campaign issues, and ultimately these evaluations influence their views of the competing candidates and their voting decisions. Finally, we discuss our three-way panel study where we gather information from the same individuals at different points during the 2020 campaign, allowing us to model how campaign events change people’s attitudes about the presidential candidates.

  • Chapter 8 - Conspiracy Thinking

  • from Part IV - Examining Societal Discontent
  • Kees van den Bos, Utrecht University
  • Book:
    The Fair Process Effect
    Published online:
    26 October 2023
    Print publication:
    09 November 2023, pp 89-102

  • Summary

    Chapter 8 studies what we can do so that people do not fall into traps of trying to believe in conspiracy theories that resist falsification. Belief in conspiracy theories often starts by looking at important societal authorities and a certain amount of suspicion about these authorities. The chapter examines when conspiracy thinking feels so good that people exaggerate their levels of suspicion of what is actually going on in society. The chapter also explains how the online quality of our modern way of living tends to amplify levels of suspicion and the ease with which conspiracy theories are spread. The chapter distinguishes between three different motivations that often are equated with each other, yet that drive conspiracy thinking in different ways. One important motivation is epistemic and concerns people trying to make sense of what is going on in their world. Another important motivation is existential and concerns people trying to deal with threats in their life. Yet another motivation concerns group identification. This includes people wanting to belong to unique groups that give them a sense of belonging. The three motivations point out different ways of trying to intervene when people start falling for exaggerated suspicion and conspiracy thoughts.

The Fair Process Effect
  • Overcoming Distrust, Polarization, and Conspiracy Thinking
  • Kees van den Bos
  • Published online:
    26 October 2023
    Print publication:
    09 November 2023
  • The Fair Process Effect aims to shed light on why there are so many instances of distrust, polarization, and conspiracy thinking in our world and what we can do about this. The book focuses on the fair process effect as a mechanism that may help to start overcoming these important issues of societal discontent. This is a positive effect that people exhibit when they have been treated in genuinely fair and just ways by fellow human beings and societal authorities. Current insights presented in the book aid the understanding of why people may experience discontent, distrust, and disillusionment. Furthermore, these insights can be used to start countering exaggerated levels of distrust, heightened polarization, and unfounded conspiracy thinking. To this end, Van den Bos develops a coherent and modern account of the fair process effect, targeted at understanding and managing these pertinent issues.

  • Belief in false information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and a tendency to conspiracy thinking as factors that may exacerbate symptoms of anxiety and depression among Polish citizens

  • P. Dębski, M. Piegza, N. Kapuśniak, A. Boroń, M. Dębska, P. Gorczyca
  • Journal:
    European Psychiatry / Volume 65 / Issue S1 / June 2022
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    01 September 2022, p. S75
    • Article
      • You have access
      • Open access
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  • Introduction

    The COVID-19 pandemic has become the subject of intense discussion on social media platforms. Fake news and conspiracy theories about the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in particular its origin, spread, impact on health and prevention, have become especially popular. The social crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with a growing tendency to believe in conspiracy theories, which in turn may contribute to an increase in anxiety tension and thus deteriorate the psychological health of citizens.

    Objectives

    The aim of the study was to determine the relationships between the tendency to believe in false information about the COVID-19 pandemic and the severity of symptoms of anxiety and depression among the surveyed Polish citizens.

    Methods

    The study included 700 Polish people aged 24.7±6.34 years. We used questionnaires such as: COVID-19 Conspiratorial Beliefs Scale to measure the level of belief in false information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale to measure tendencies to believe in conspiracy theories, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

    Results

    Belief in false information about the COVID-19 pandemic may be associated with a slight increase in the severity of both anxiety symptoms (b=0.044; p=0.021) and depression (b=0.048; p=0.004). A factor known as belief in the criminal activity of government organizations may also contribute to predicting the increase in the severity of symptoms of anxiety (b=0.172; p=0.001) and depression (b=0.169; p=0.000) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Conclusions

    Belief in false information about the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as belief in general conspiracy theories, can contribute to the psychological deterioration of citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Disclosure

    No significant relationships.

  • Public Opinions and Conspiracy Thinking Toward the COVID-19 Outbreak in Iraqi Kurdistan

  • Deldar Morad Abdulah, Mahir Sadullah Saeed
  • Journal:
    Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness / Volume 16 / Issue 4 / August 2022
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    22 December 2020, pp. 1322-1325
    • Article
      • You have access
      • Open access
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  • Objective:

    The public’s perceptions toward the COVID-19 crisis and the government’s attempts to handle the crisis are critically noteworthy. The public opinions toward the COVID-19 crisis were explored in this study.

    Methods:

    In this report, 1102 participants were included from 2 popular social media platforms from the Duhok Governorate in Iraqi Kurdistan between June 2 and 22, 2020, through an online technique.

    Results:

    The study revealed that 14.0% of the participants believed that there is no COVID-19 in this region, and 20.1% had no concerns about the disease spread. This study revealed that 27.4% had conspiracy thinking about the COVID-19 outbreak, including that the outbreak is a plot against/of the Kurdistan Region Government, 16.4% and 19.3%, respectively. The outbreak caused considerable changes in participants’ lives (85.8%). The participants who had conspiracy thinking were younger (27.0 vs 30.0; P = 0.001) and had a higher level of education (37.50% high school and under, 26.0% college and above, 16.2% illiterate: P < 0.001). In addition, they had a private job (43.7%), and were unemployed (23.9%; P < 0.001), and had negative views on the TV information (38.9% vs 17.5%; P < 0.001).

    Conclusions:

    A considerable percentage of the public exhibits conspiracy thinking toward the COVID-19 crisis in Iraqi Kurdistan.