School of Psychology

Seminar Series Autumn 2022

Date: Oct 12th, 2022

Time: 1:00 to 2:00 pm

Location: Psych A1, University Park Campus

Exploring and addressing intergroup conspiracy theories 

Daniel Jolley, University of Nottingham

Whilst many conspiracy theories are related to general beliefs about government, society or powerful people (e.g., the moon landing, climate change, COVID-19 pandemic), many other conspiracy theories have a clear intergroup context. In the psychological literature, findings such as a relationship between conspiracy beliefs and prejudice have been uncovered. However, less is understood about intergroup conspiracy theories’ broader impact and how such conspiracy beliefs can be reduced. In this talk, Dr Daniel Jolley will first present new findings on the links between intergroup conspiracy beliefs and violent responses. In samples of Jewish participants, he will also show how perceiving conspiracy theories about Jews as more prevalent by non-Jews can increase perceptions of threat and anger. With these consequences in mind, he will then discuss how intergroup contact can act as a tool to reduce conspiracy beliefs. Notably, he will show how the effect between contact and conspiracy beliefs are maintained even when controlling for prejudice, thus demonstrating another broad implication of intergroup contact.