Exposure to intergroup conspiracy theories promotes prejudice which spreads across groups

Jolley, Daniel, Meleady, Rose ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4671-4960 and Douglas, Karen (2020) Exposure to intergroup conspiracy theories promotes prejudice which spreads across groups. British Journal of Psychology, 111 (1). pp. 17-35. ISSN 0007-1269

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Abstract

This research experimentally examined the effects of exposure to intergroup conspiracy theories on prejudice and discrimination. Study 1 (N = 166) demonstrated that exposure to conspiracy theories concerning immigrants to Britain from the European Union (vs. anti-conspiracy material or a control) exacerbated prejudice towards this group. Study 2 (N = 173) found the same effect in a different intergroup context—exposure to conspiracy theories about Jewish people (vs. anti-conspiracy material or a control) increased prejudice towards this group and reduced participants’ willingness to vote for a Jewish political candidate. Finally, Study 3 (N = 114) demonstrated that exposure to conspiracy theories about Jewish people not only increased prejudice towards this group but was indirectly associated with increased prejudice towards a number of secondary outgroups (e.g., Asians, Arabs, Americans, Irish, Australians). The current research suggests that conspiracy theories may have potentially damaging and widespread consequences for intergroup relations.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	conspiracy theories,prejudice,discrimination,intergroup relations,aids,anti-semitism,contact,conspiracy theories,attitudes,belief,threat,intentions,predictors,consequences,association,sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/good_health_and_well_being
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Psychology
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Social Cognition Research Group Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Behavioural and Experimental Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Cognition, Action and Perception
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	14 Feb 2019 10:30
Last Modified:	14 Dec 2024 01:27
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/69927
DOI:	10.1111/bjop.12385

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