What do laypeople think causes conspiracy beliefs? New research suggests that people tend to attribute these beliefs most strongly to influence from social media and misinformation. Read more in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin: https://ow.ly/HSrZ50YioS5

🔔 Registration closing soon! Sign up for “Engaging with Conspiracy Theories, Fostering Democracy” before Monday 23rd March. Details below 👇

How can counterfactual thinking help tackle conspiracy theories? The short (~3 minute) answer is in our @spspnews.bsky.social blog post (with @kwinter.bsky.social, @kaiepstude.bsky.social, and Bob Fennis): spsp.org/news/charact... 1/2

A new study highlights the experiences of men who left toxic online spaces.

certainty and belonging noted as key needs for individuals swindled into cults www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

Today’s post is by Brady Wagoner, (University of Copenhagen and Aalborg University). With Maja Sødinge Jørgensen and Kirstine Pahuus he published a article in Current Opinion in Psychology: “Conspiracy theories through the lens of collective memory”. #philsky #philsky imperfectcognitions....

This is what happens when the Secretary of HHS rejects science and adopts conspiracy theories. And, unless we stop it, epidemics could become much worse. www.uchealth.org/today/is-mea...

What do laypeople think causes conspiracy beliefs? We (@kaiepstude.bsky.social, Bob Fennis, and I) look at this and other questions in a new PSPB paper combining six correlational studies and a qualitative one. Read the open-access paper here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... A 🧵 1/5

Kent Psychology is hiring 🎓We have two posts: 1) open area and 2) cog neuro. More details can be found here: jobs.kent.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx... Feel free to reach out with questions!

“Law and Order, Magical Spirits, and False Flag Operations: On the Co-Occurrence of Authoritarianism, Spirituality, and Conspiracy Beliefs and Their Association with Support of Violent Protests” in Political Psychology onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

nice to be part of this multidisciplinary and international team led by Justin Phillips (nz), @timgravelle.bsky.social (ca), @acarson.bsky.social & me investigating whether facebook's 3rd party fact-checking increases #conspiracybelief TLDR; it doesn't really. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

nice piece on narcissism and conspiracy belief by @tylorcos.bsky.social theconversation.com/why-do-educa...

Great response to our CfP! Engaging with Conspiracy Theories, Fostering Democracy conference at @charlesuni.cuni.cz. The scientific committee has met and selected abstracts: tact-forsed.eu/2025/12/16/e... Looking forward to it😀 #AcademicConference #ConspiracyTheories #DemocraticResilience

Longitudinal analysis shows possible distinct patterns of associations between conspiracy beliefs and either institutional distrust or the sense of precarity findings here suggest b/w person associations over time, rather than w/i changes bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Does Being Confronted With Internal Attributions for an Ingroup’s Sufferings Foster the Endorsement of Conspiracy Theories? New in social psychology, from @kenzonera.bsky.social, Karen Douglas, @paulbertin.bsky.social, and @olivierklein.bsky.social doi.org/10.1525/coll...

We are really proud of our #NottsPsychPod team – incredible numbers in the Spotify 2025 wrapped: -18 countries reached -Our podcast growth outpaces 90% of other shows -Fans listened for longer than 77% of other shows -More shares than 83% of other shows www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/o...

#Research in Political Psychology (@wiley.com) investigated the link between believing in conspiracy theories and economic anxiety. A group of academics led by Magdalena Adamus (Masaryk University 🇨🇿) assessed our Round 10 (2020-22) #data to explore whether these is an association.

Are people who believe in #conspiracy theories mentally ill? #conspiracytheories #psychology #pathology #mentalillness

New paper out in @jexpsocpsych.bsky.social ! We (@kwinter.bsky.social, @kaiepstude.bsky.social , Bob Fennis and I) found that encouraging counterfactual thinking reduces engagement with conspiracy theories (i.e., clicks on, and reading times for, conspiracy articles). A 🧵 1/n

📢 Final call for papers! Engaging with Conspiracy Theories, Fostering Democracy — Prague, 9–10 Apr 2026. Submit by THIS FRIDAY 5 Dec 2025! Topics: #ConspiracyTheories, #Disinformation, #Democracy and more! 👉👉 tact-forsed.eu/2025/10/07/c.... #AcademicConference

🚨 New paper out in the European Journal of Social Psychology! Across one study using aggregated nation-level data and four preregistered experiments, we examined how freedom of speech within a society influences belief in conspiracy theories.

Missed Series 2 of Notts Psych Pod? 🎧 Catch up now, wherever you get your podcasts: 👉 creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/... Each series explores how psychology connects with real-world issues — from neurodiversity to community engagement — putting people at the centre of research.

Why are some people more prone to believe in conspiracy theories? Part of the answer may lie in metacognition, i.e., the ability to correctly estimate one's own knowledge about topics. -> New paper with @kwinter.bsky.social, @kaisassenberg.bsky.social & Helen Fischer 🔗 doi.org/10.1080/2044...

Our registered report on the impact of using norms as a lever against vaccination misinformation @collabrapsychology.bsky.social online.ucpress.edu/collabra/art...

Notts Psych has its very own podcast - Notts Psych Pod. We highlight our research that aims to make a difference in people’s lives and in society. Listen wherever you get your podcasts: creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/... / www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/o... #NottsPsychPod

fantastic pod with @drdanieljolley.bsky.social about the psychology behind conspiracy theories. impressive coverage of a lot of topics including what, who, and the why of conspiracy theories as well as some tips on how to engage with ppl who believe them.

🚨New open access paper out in BJP special issue "Psychological Understanding of Misinformation and Disinformation in the Face of Environmental Crises"! “Fighting fire with fire: Prebunking with the use of a plausible meta-conspiracy framing” 🧵👇 1/12 📖 doi.org/10.1111/bjop...

"The danger isn’t just the extreme cases — it’s the slow erosion of social trust" some informed opinions on this featuring experts in the space including @ulliecker.bsky.social @drdanieljolley.bsky.social

From pub chatter to prime time: conspiracy theories are everywhere. But where’s the line between healthy scepticism and believing the Royals are lizards? Today, @alexvont.bsky.social & @drdanieljolley.bsky.social dig into why Britain fell for conspiracy thinking. 🎧 linktr.ee/bunker_pod

🎙️ Love Notts Psych Pod? Let’s make it official! You can vote for us in the Listeners’ Choice at the #BritishPodcastAwards – and it only takes a minute! Here’s how: 👉 Visit britishpodcastawards.com/vote 👉 Search Notts Psych Pod 👉 Hit VOTE and confirm via email Deadline: 8th Sept 2025

If you assumed the answer might be Boomers, you’re not alone. The researchers behind the study said they figured that would be the case, too. "[Our findings go] against the typical stereotype of the older uncle at the Christmas table exposing the latest conspiracy theories,” the co-author told me.

I'm looking forward to giving a Keynote on our work studying the psychology of conspiracy theories at this event 👇 mmmworkshop.cs.ru.nl

💰 Economic hardship, anomie, and anti-immigrant attitudes Six studies found that economic hardship can fuel anti-immigrant sentiment, partly via societal decline perceptions and conspiracy beliefs. 🔗 doi.org/10.1111/jasp... #SciComm 🧪 #Psychology

Worsening economic conditions fuel anti-immigrant conspiracy beliefs and support for violence

🎉 That’s a wrap on Series 2 of Notts Psych Pod! Catch up wherever you get your podcasts: creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/... #NottsPsychPod Huge thanks to our brilliant editor @graceebaranowski, host Dr Daniel Jolley, & producer @neuro_rachel. And a big shout-out to our amazing guests!

A powerful clip from today's episode 👇 Listen to #NottsPsychPod wherever you listen to your podcasts: creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/...

A write-up on my recent work collaborating with a policy partner and launching #NottsPsychPod, showcasing how psychology research can inform policy and engage the public. Love these projects! www.nottingham.ac.uk/vision/visio...

How many psychology staff can you fit into a selfie? We gave it our best go 💙💚

When a foreign power floods your media with false health alerts designed to create panic, isn’t that as threatening as a military blockade?

Extremists, right-wing influencers and GOP lawmakers spent the days after the tragic Texas floods pushing conspiracies about "weather weapons." On Sunday, a weather radar system was vandalized and one extremist group is taking credit with @mollytaft.com www.wired.com/story/texas-...

We’re back! Notts Psych Pod is back for Series 2, where we explore what it means to work with communities. Episodes will be available on Mondays, starting July 7, 2025. Listen wherever you get your podcasts: creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/... #NottsPsychPod

New paper out: Across 6 studies with diverse methods (correlation, quasi-experimental and experimental), we find that economic hardship and anomie may fuel anti-immigrant sentiment, and conspiracy beliefs may be a key piece of the puzzle. Full paper here onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

A former Cambridge graduate student died of cancer because her mother peddled conspiracy theories and misinformation that led her to refuse life-saving medical treatment. Misinformation can kill you, especially if it comes from the people you're supposed to trust. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Series 2 teaser for #NottsPsychPod is coming soon! #PreTeaser @notts-psych.bsky.social @uniofnottingham.bsky.social creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/...

The Iran-Israel conflict marks the first time in a war where AI-generated videos and images have been widely shared by supporters of both sides as an effective tool to fight the information war. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Why do conspiracy theories appeal to so many people? Learn about the deep psychological needs they often fulfill and why understanding them matters, writes Matthew Facciani for Psychology Today. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/misg...

New paper out: Across 6 studies with diverse methods (correlation, quasi-experimental and experimental), we find that economic hardship and anomie may fuel anti-immigrant sentiment, and conspiracy beliefs may be a key piece of the puzzle. Full paper here onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

New paper in PSPB! journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... Well, actually, not "new". We first put this paper online way back Dec 2022... in any case, we think it's really cool! We find that conspiracy believers tend to be overconfident & really don't seem to realize that most disagree with them

great to see the work by @omidghasemi.bsky.social in the @aunz.theconversation.com read about our research here: theconversation.com/climate-scie...

Psychology tells us: exposure changes minds. When people personally know LGBTQ+ individuals, conspiracy beliefs decline. 💭🏳️‍🌈 Let's break barriers together. Read more: buff.ly/2vq9GNP 
#LGBTQ #CognitiveBias #Misinformation #QueerVoices