Regulating belief: Does emotion regulation ability predict belief in conspiracy theories?

Abstract

A growing body of evidence suggests that conspiracy beliefs are often harmful both to individuals and to society at large. Defined as explanations for events that involve secret plots by powerful groups, conspiracy beliefs are fundamentally emotional in nature and often associated with negative feelings and diminished well-being. However, the question of how emotions influence the formation of conspiracy beliefs remains largely unexplored. This research examines conspiracy beliefs through the lens of emotion regulation, the process whereby individuals process and deal with their feelings. Research suggests that greater emotion regulation ability (ERA) may be associated with less endorsement of conspiracy beliefs, but this possibility has not yet been directly explored. For this study, 304 adults recruited from the United States and the United Kingdom completed online questionnaires measuring 4 distinct but overlapping measures of ERA and 1 measure of conspiracy belief, and the resulting correlations were calculated. Two measures of emotion regulation practices associated with poor well-being were correlated with higher levels of conspiracy belief, which persisted when controlling for demographic factors. Two measures of emotion regulation practices associated with improved well-being showed mixed results, with one weakly negatively correlated with conspiracy belief and the other weakly positively correlated (an unexpected result). Two of the ERA measures found to be internally consistent with one another were used together as a composite measure of ERA. This composite measure was moderately correlated with conspiracy belief levels. These results suggest that lower ERA may predict higher susceptibility to conspiracy beliefs, but the inverse may not be true. By investigating this association between the previously unconnected research traditions of emotion regulation and conspiracy belief, this study establishes a baseline for further investigation of the role of emotionality and emotion regulation in the formation and maintenance of conspiracy beliefs. This research may provide valuable insights for educators, policy makers, and clinicians seeking to combat harmful conspiracy beliefs, such as vaccine-hoax beliefs and climate-hoax beliefs.