On “Everyday Conspiracist Reasoning” and Its Radicalization: Putting the Psychology of Conspiracy Beliefs in Its Context

Abstract

Social psychology explains the endorsement of conspiracy theories by drawing both on trait-like concepts such as conspiracy mentality and on structural factors. While each perspective is indispensable, an integrative framework that synthesises psychological dynamics and structural predictors and embeds them in the social and political contexts in which such beliefs arise remains underdeveloped. In this paper, we propose an approach that conceptualizes conspiracy beliefs through its tension between what we coined “everyday conspiracist reasoning” and “vocal conspiracism.” Everyday conspiracist reasoning describes interpretive frameworks embedded in everyday experiences within society, marked by deep mistrust and suspicion of hidden agendas. These frameworks offer a sense of psychological security in an increasingly unstable environment. However, when individuals face acute personal or societal crises, these everyday orientations may radicalize into vocal conspiracism, which is a more assertive, public, and all-encompassing belief in conspiracies. In these cases, conspiracy thinking can expand to shape an individual’s entire worldview. Political responses to crises and regressive group dynamics partly determine whether this progression intensifies or recedes, with the latter potentially reinforcing conspiracist interpretations.