On the measurement of conspiracy beliefs
Are so-called “birthers” best thought of as true conspiracy theorists, or are they merely partisans expressing a sharp dislike of Barack Obama? Recent work on conspiracy beliefs finds that “birthers” are the product of partisan and ideological motivated reasoning. In this manuscript, we explore how...
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| Format: | Article |
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SAGE Publishing
2018-03-01
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| Series: | Research & Politics |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168018763596 |
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doaj-a7b31f09c2fd455e909ca3a8bc2c96ba2020-11-25T03:17:51ZengSAGE PublishingResearch & Politics2053-16802018-03-01510.1177/2053168018763596On the measurement of conspiracy beliefsAdam M. Enders0Steven M. Smallpage1Department of Political Science, University of Louisville, USADepartment of Political Science, Stetson University, USAAre so-called “birthers” best thought of as true conspiracy theorists, or are they merely partisans expressing a sharp dislike of Barack Obama? Recent work on conspiracy beliefs finds that “birthers” are the product of partisan and ideological motivated reasoning. In this manuscript, we explore how the measurement strategies we employ on public opinion surveys may influence the substantive conclusions we draw about conspiratorial beliefs, rumors, and misinformation. We find that partisan stimuli influence reported beliefs in several different conspiracy theories, and, subsequently, the relationships between individual stated beliefs in those conspiracy theories. The implications of these findings are discussed.https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168018763596 |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
Adam M. Enders Steven M. Smallpage |
| spellingShingle |
Adam M. Enders Steven M. Smallpage On the measurement of conspiracy beliefs Research & Politics |
| author_facet |
Adam M. Enders Steven M. Smallpage |
| author_sort |
Adam M. Enders |
| title |
On the measurement of conspiracy beliefs |
| title_short |
On the measurement of conspiracy beliefs |
| title_full |
On the measurement of conspiracy beliefs |
| title_fullStr |
On the measurement of conspiracy beliefs |
| title_full_unstemmed |
On the measurement of conspiracy beliefs |
| title_sort |
on the measurement of conspiracy beliefs |
| publisher |
SAGE Publishing |
| series |
Research & Politics |
| issn |
2053-1680 |
| publishDate |
2018-03-01 |
| description |
Are so-called “birthers” best thought of as true conspiracy theorists, or are they merely partisans expressing a sharp dislike of Barack Obama? Recent work on conspiracy beliefs finds that “birthers” are the product of partisan and ideological motivated reasoning. In this manuscript, we explore how the measurement strategies we employ on public opinion surveys may influence the substantive conclusions we draw about conspiratorial beliefs, rumors, and misinformation. We find that partisan stimuli influence reported beliefs in several different conspiracy theories, and, subsequently, the relationships between individual stated beliefs in those conspiracy theories. The implications of these findings are discussed. |
| url |
https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168018763596 |
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