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Full-Text Articles in Social Psychology
“I Ask Questions!”: An Investigation On Conspiracy Theorizing, Epistemic Curiosity, And Social Vigilantism In Examining Fanatic Conspiracy Theory Support, Hillary Copeland
“I Ask Questions!”: An Investigation On Conspiracy Theorizing, Epistemic Curiosity, And Social Vigilantism In Examining Fanatic Conspiracy Theory Support, Hillary Copeland
Murray State Theses and Dissertations
This study uncovered factors associated with increased conspiracy theory fanaticism by examining the structural components of conspiracy thinking to predict continuous support for specific conspiracy theory propositions. Participants' level of discordant knowledge in conspiracy thinking, comprised of subjective certainty and locus of perceived social opposition, was quantified to predict continuous support for specific conspiracy theory propositions (H1). Findings suggest that underlying differences in the epistemic structure of conspiracy theorizing can be measured to predict the potential negative outcomes of increased conspiracy thinking. Social vigilantism was also examined as a partial mediator to help explain the relationship between discordant knowing conspiracy …