The entertainment value of conspiracy theories

2021/07/14 by Jan‐Willem van Prooijen, Joline Ligthart, Sabine Rosema +1 · 121 citations
Arts and Humanities · Neuroscience · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Cognition #Emotional valence #Entertainment #Globe #Literature #Media Influence and Health #Misinformation and Its Impacts #Narrative #Psychology #Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment #Social psychology #Trait #Valence (chemistry) #Value (mathematics)

paper · doi:10.1111/bjop.12522

published in British Journal of Psychology 113(1), 25-48 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2021/07/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Many citizens around the globe believe conspiracy theories. Why are conspiracy theories so appealing? Here, we propose that conspiracy theories elicit intense emotions independent of emotional valence. People therefore find conspiracy theories entertaining - that is, narratives that people perceive as interesting, exciting, and attention-grabbing - and such entertainment appraisals are positively associated with belief in them. Five studies supported these ideas. Participants were exposed to either a conspiratorial or a non-conspiratorial text about the Notre Dame fire (Study 1) or the death of Jeffrey Epstein (preregistered Study 2). The conspiratorial text elicited stronger entertainment appraisals and intense emotions (independent of emotional valence) than the non-conspiratorial text; moreover, entertainment appraisals mediated the effects of the manipulation on conspiracy beliefs. Study 3 indicated that participants endorsed stronger conspiracy beliefs when an election event was described in an entertaining rather than a boring manner. Subsequent findings revealed that both organisational (Study 4) and societal conspiracy beliefs (Study 5) are positively associated with sensation seeking - a trait characterised by a preference for exciting and intense experiences. We conclude that one reason why people believe conspiracy theories is because they find them entertaining.

Citations

• Analytic thinking reduces belief in conspiracy theories
• The social consequences of conspiracism: Exposure to conspiracy theories decreases intentions to engage in politics and to reduce one's carbon footprint
• Organizational Conspiracy Beliefs: Implications for Leadership Styles and Employee Outcomes
• Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk

Cited by

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• Feeling the Conspiracy—Theorising the Transformation and Collectivisation of Emotions Through Conspiracy Theories
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• Narrative transportation: How stories shape how we see ourselves and the world
• Using psychological science to understand and fight health misinformation: An APA consensus statement.
• Testing the impact of fallacies and contrarian claims in climate change misinformation
• Mainstreaming the manosphere: discourses of contemporary masculinity among Estonian manfluencers
• The evolutionary functions of imagination and fiction and how they may contribute to psychological wellbeing during a pandemic
• Injustice Without Evidence: The Unique Role of Conspiracy Theories in Social Justice Research. [europepmc]
• Motivational Factors to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine in the United Arab Emirates: A Cross-Sectional Study. [europepmc]
• Who Will Help to Strive Against the "Infodemic"? Reciprocity Norms Enforce the Information Sharing Accuracy of the Individuals. [europepmc]
• Science vs. Conspiracy Theory about COVID-19: Need for Cognition and Openness to Experience Increased Belief in Conspiracy-Theoretical Postings on Social Media. [europepmc]
• Individual, intergroup and nation-level influences on belief in conspiracy theories. [europepmc]
• Further examinations of attitudes toward discrete emotions, with a focus on attitudes toward anger. [europepmc]
• Contemporary trends in psychological research on conspiracy beliefs. A systematic review. [europepmc]
• The Appraisal Model of Conspiracy Theories (AMCT): Applying Appraisal Theories to Understand Emotional and Behavioral Reactions to Conspiracy Theories. [europepmc]
• The Appraisal Model of Conspiracy Theories (AMCT): Highlighting Core Concepts and Potential Extensions. [europepmc]
• Suspicious of AI? Perceived autonomy and interdependence predict AI-related conspiracy beliefs. [europepmc]
• Popcorn politics: Entertainment appraisals predict support for populist leaders. [europepmc]
• Understanding Violent Radicalization and Conspiracy Belief in Dutch Youth Aged 16-25: A Latent Profile Analysis. [europepmc]
• Using psychological science to understand and fight health misinformation: An APA consensus statement. [europepmc]
• Leave the world(view) behind, but keep the words: The effect of conspiracism on writing. [europepmc]
• The evolutionary functions of imagination and fiction and how they may contribute to psychological wellbeing during a pandemic [europepmc]

Related

• Understanding Conspiracy Theories
• The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories
• Feeling the Conspiracy—Theorising the Transformation and Collectivisation of Emotions Through Conspiracy Theories
• Belief in conspiracy theories: Basic principles of an emerging research domain
• “Just Because It’s a Conspiracy Theory Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Out to Get You”: Differentiating the Correlates of Judgments of Plausible Versus Implausible Conspiracy Theories