Summary: A new study finds that spite—driven by feelings of uncertainty, threat, or disadvantage—plays a key role in conspiracy theory belief. Researchers analyzed data from 1,000 participants and found that spiteful motives strengthened the link between conspiracy thinking and the need for understanding, security, and social significance.
Rather than a conscious choice, spite emerges as a psychological response to feeling powerless, making people more receptive to rejecting expert opinions. The findings suggest that addressing misinformation requires tackling broader social and economic factors that fuel feelings of disenfranchisement.
Key Facts
- Spite as a Key Factor: Higher levels of spite were strongly linked to conspiracy theory belief.
- Driven by Uncertainty: Spiteful responses emerge when people feel uncertain, undervalued, or at a disadvantage.
- Beyond Misinformation: Combating conspiracy beliefs requires addressing social and economic inequalities.
Source: Staffordshire University
Why do people believe in conspiracy theories? New research has highlighted an important factor, spite.
Conspiracy theories – alternative explanations for major events that reject well-evidenced explanations in favour of implausible, illogical, or fantastical secret plots – have surged in popularity, particularly in times of crisis.
New research by psychologists from the University of Staffordshire and the University of Birmingham, published in the Journal of Social Issues, identifies spite as a key factor that underlies conspiracy theory belief.
“Spiteful psychological motives tend to emerge when people feel at a competitive disadvantage, often when we feel uncertain, threatened or undervalued,” explained lead researcher Dr David Gordon from University of Staffordshire.
“Spite is the desire to ‘level the playing field’ by trying to knock someone else down because it feels like there is no other choice. Conspiracy theories can serve as a way for individuals to satisfy this desire through rejecting expert opinion and scientific consensus.”
Over three studies involving 1000 participants, the research examined how spitefulness interacts with three established motivations for conspiracy thinking: a need to understand the world (epistemic motives), a need for security (existential motives), and a need for social significance (social motives).
As expected, higher levels of spite were associated with a stronger belief in conspiracy theories, and spite mediated the relationship between conspiracy theory belief and the three established predictors.
Dr Megan Birney, co-author from the University of Birmingham, explained: “We are not suggesting that people consciously choose to be spiteful when believing and spreading conspiracy theories.
“Instead, our findings suggest that feelings of disadvantage in those three areas can provoke a common psychological – spiteful – response, one that makes individuals more receptive to believing conspiracy theories.”
In the research, the strongest relationship was between belief, spite and uncertainty about the world. The researchers believe the latter could be offset by effective science communication and media literacy around complex topics aimed at countering misinformation.
The results also have the broader implications. They suggest that efforts to combat belief in conspiracy theories should not focus solely on countering misinformation but also address the social and political conditions that foster feelings of disenfranchisement, precariousness and competition.
“If we understand conspiracy beliefs as a manifestation of spite – a reaction to real or perceived social and economic disadvantage – then tackling misinformation is inseparable from addressing broader societal issues such as financial insecurity and inequality,” added Dr Gordon.
About this conspiracy theory and psychology research news
Author: Amy Platts
Source: Staffordshire University
Contact: Amy Platts – Staffordshire University
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Spite and Science-Denial: Exploring the Role of Spitefulness in Conspiracy Ideation and COVID-19 Conspiracy Beliefs” by David Gordon et al. Journal of Social Issues
Abstract
Spite and Science-Denial: Exploring the Role of Spitefulness in Conspiracy Ideation and COVID-19 Conspiracy Beliefs
Science denialism is at the heart of many conspiracy theory beliefs. We propose that such beliefs are manifestations of a distal social process: spite.
In three pre-registered studies, we test the hypothesis that established predictors of these beliefs (epistemic, existential, and social motives) are specific cues of competitive disadvantage that provoke a common facultative “spiteful” psychological response, making a person more open to believing in conspiracy theories.
Study 1 (N = 301; UK representative Prolific sample), found that spite mediated the relationship between realistic threat and in-group narcissism (social motives), political powerlessness (existential motive), and intolerance for uncertainty (epistemic motive), and conspiracy theory belief and COVID-19 conspiracies.
This pattern was replicated in Study 2 (N = 405; UK representative Prolific sample).
In Study 3 (N = 405; UK representative Prolific sample), we found that those who engaged in a spite-inducing task reported higher levels of spite which indirectly resulted in stronger beliefs in conspiracy theories.
The overall pattern of results provides initial evidence that spite may play a role in why people engage with false information. Research and policy implications of these findings are discussed.
