Conspiracy belief functions as a coping mechanism for groups facing loss and marginalization

Evidence

Uscinski and Parent have also argued that conspiracy theories are for “losers,” meaning they are coping mechanisms to deal with perceived threats that “tend to resonate when groups are suffering from loss, weakness or disunity.” Thus it would make sense that marginalized ethnic or religious groups would be predisposed to conspiracy thinking: their experiences of the social order make them more inclined to see conspiracies as possible. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 146

Categorization

• XREF: Directly grounds the vault’s core claim linking conspiracy belief to the same social-identity and threat mechanisms as authoritarianism and prejudice psychology. — connects to: Stigmatized-knowledge belief channels believers toward conspiracy theories — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 186; Economic insecurity and minority status predict higher conspiracy belief regardless of education or income — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 145; Conspiracy theories satisfy epistemic, existential, and social needs — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 179 (+13 more)

Broader Connections

• Conspiracy theories give concrete form to a group’s sensed loss of power #corroborates (0.90) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 58
• Stress and institutional distrust drive Americans toward conspiracy explanations of unwelcome reality. #corroborates (0.82) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 54
• Threat and insecurity from structural conditions drive heightened conspiracy thinking #corroborates (0.82) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 56
• Economic insecurity and minority status predict higher conspiracy belief regardless of education or income #corroborates (0.80) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 145
• Conspiracy movements recruit across divergent groups by serving different emotional needs #corroborates (0.75) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 271
• Conspiracy belief stems from universal human meaning-making rather than outsider pathology #qualifies (0.75) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 32
• Conspiratorial beliefs function as group security early-warning systems. #expands (0.75) — Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories, 104
• Stigmatized-knowledge belief channels believers toward conspiracy theories #complicates (0.72) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 186
• Conspiracy theories satisfy epistemic, existential, and social needs #corroborates (0.72) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 179
• Conspiracy belief offers psychological reassurance by making the world meaningful and purposive #corroborates (0.72) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 78
• Political losing raises a group’s propensity for conspiratorial reasoning rather than causing it #contradicts (0.72) — Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories, 756
• Disproportionate effect-to-cause gaps drive people toward conspiracy explanations #expands (0.72) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 116
• Conspiracy functions as an alternative epistemology when interpretation has no ground truth #complicates (0.72) — , The Braided Reading EPUB, 105