Honors College Theses

Publication Date

5-2024

Major

Psychology (B.S.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Faculty Mentor

Joshua Williams

Abstract

Conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and paranormal ideas are commonly adopted not only by Americans but by cultures across the globe. These three types of unwarranted beliefs have been examined against multiple variables to see what factors may possibly lead to these beliefs. Not many studies look at all three of these beliefs together. Our study will be an expansion of the paper by Lobato et al. (2014), which looks at conspiratorial, pseudoscientific, paranormal beliefs, and personality factors. However, narcissism was not a variable in the original study even though it is a high predictor of conspiratorial beliefs. As such, this study will expand upon the work of Lobato’s team by adding additional scales that measure grandiose, vulnerable, and collectivist narcissism. A regression will be run to analyze the personality variables against conspiratorial, pseudoscientific, and paranormal endorsement rates to determine if any personality factors are affected by a third variable.

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