Katie’s Talk:

Further examining the link between Illusory pattern perception and conspiracy theories: Are people seeing patterns where none exist more susceptible to different conspiracy theory domains? 

Abstract:

We believe in conspiracy theories because they appeal to a wide range of cognitive and psychological needs (Douglas et al. 2017). But they do not necessarily fulfil these needs, and they are not harmless (Jolley et al. 2022). Disinformation about the coronavirus vaccine impacted health choices, contributing to the spread of the disease. Indeed, these erroneous beliefs can promote a decline in trust in the government, science, and associated institutions. In addition, research has indicated that no one is naturally immune, and many interventions aimed at limiting these beliefs are ineffective (O’Mahony et al. 2023). It is therefore important that we identify those people who are susceptible in order to most effectively target interventions. One approach is looking at pattern perception. Those who see patterns where they do not exist (illusory pattern perception) are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories (van Prooijen et al. 2018). This quantitative, exploratory survey-based study will add to this growing body of research by providing an insight into potential relationships between visual patterns, as well a new element, audio patterns, and conspiracy beliefs. The research area is a work in progress, with fundamental questions being formulated, new approaches investigated, and many areas underexplored.

References

1. Douglas K, Sutton RM, Cichocka A. The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories. Current Directions in Psychological Science 2017;26:538-42.
2. Jolley D, Marques MD, Cookson D. Shining a spotlight on the dangerous consequences of conspiracy theories. Current Opinion in Psychology 2022;47:101363.
3. O’Mahony C, Brasil M, Murphy G, Linehan C. The efficacy of interventions in reducing belief in conspiracy theories: A systematic review. PLoS ONE 2023;18:e0280902.
4. Van Prooijen JW, Douglas KM, De Inocencio C. Connecting the dots: Illusory pattern perception predicts belief in conspiracies and the supernatural. European Journal of Social Psychology 2018;48:320-35.

Jayne’s Talk:

TBC