Support for leaders who use conspiratorial rhetoric: The role of personal control and political identity

Conspiracy theories have accrued around recent world events, and many of them have been endorsed by leaders seeking to garner support. Drawing from compensatory control theory, we argue a reduced sense of control will increase support for leaders who use conspiratorial rhetoric. Moreover, we posit that the congruence between one's political identity and a leader's conspiratorial rhetoric is an important consideration with regard to when this effect will emerge. Studies 1a and 1b established causality by directly manipulating sense of control and finding greater support for conspiratorial leaders in the lacking vs. having control condition. Studies 2 and 3 examined the effects of real-world events that are posited to reduce a sense of control, along with the moderating effect of political identity. Study 2 showed, in two waves collected before and during COVID-19 lockdowns, that the lockdowns reduced a sense of control. Congruently, individuals supported leaders espousing a COVID-19 conspiracy theory more during the lockdowns than before. In addition, for leaders espousing conspiratorial rhetoric related to paid protests, Republicans exhibited greater support during than before the lockdown;however, the lockdown did not affect Democrats' support. Study 3 showed, in two waves collected before and after the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, that Biden supporters felt greater control after the election and decreased their support for conspiratorial leaders. Trump supporters' sense of control did not change, and concurrently they did not change their support for conspiratorial leaders. Implications are discussed for leadership during times of crisis and beyond.

Mitigating and managing COVID-19 conspiratorial beliefs.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Belief in COVID-19 related conspiracy theories is a widespread and consequential problem that healthcare leaders need to confront. In this article, we draw on insights from social psychology and organisational behaviour to offer evidence-based advice that healthcare leaders can use to reduce the spread of conspiratorial beliefs and ameliorate their negative effects, both during the current pandemic and beyond. CONCLUSION: Leaders can effectively combat conspiratorial beliefs by intervening early and bolstering people's sense of control. Leaders can also address some of the problematic behaviours that result from conspiratorial beliefs by introducing incentives and mandates (e.g., vaccine mandates). However, because of the limitations of incentives and mandates, we suggest that leaders complement these techniques with interventions that leverage the power of social norms and increase people's connections to others.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the search for structure: Social media and conspiracy theories.

The study outlines a model for how the COVID-19 pandemic has uniquely exacerbated the propagation of conspiracy beliefs and subsequent harmful behaviors. The pandemic has led to widespread disruption of cognitive and social structures. As people face these disruptions they turn online seeking alternative cognitive and social structures. Once there, social media radicalizes beliefs, increasing contagion (rapid spread) and stickiness (resistance to change) of conspiracy theories. As conspiracy theories are reinforced in online communities, social norms develop, translating conspiracy beliefs into real-world action. These real-world exchanges are then posted back on social media, where they are further reinforced and amplified, and the cycle continues. In the broader population, this process draws attention to conspiracy theories and those who confidently espouse them. This attention can drive perceptions that conspiracy beliefs are less fringe and more popular, potentially normalizing such beliefs for the mainstream. We conclude by considering interventions and future research to address this seemingly intractable problem.