Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38970415›Full record

ArticleThe British journal of social psychology2025

The motivations and reputational consequences of spreading conspiracy theories.

Shen Cao, Jan-Willem van Prooijen, Mark van Vugt

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The British journal of social psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Shen CaoDepartment of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4859-8136
Jan-Willem van ProoijenDepartment of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Mark van VugtDepartment of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Funding

China Scholarship Council 202006990019
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Some people deliberately spread conspiracy theories. What are the reputational benefits and costs of doing so? The Adaptive-Conspiracism hypothesis proposes that it pays to be vigilant against possible conspiracies, especially in case of intergroup threat. Those who spread conspiracy theories may therefore be seen as valuable group members. Few studies have focused on the reputational impact of spreading a conspiracy theory. We conducted five studies (N

Indexed as

MotivationAdolescentAdultFemaleGroup ProcessesHumansMaleMiddle AgedPersonalitySocial PerceptionYoung Adultconspiracy theoryevolutionary psychologyreputationthe Adaptive‐Conspiracism Hypothesistrait impression

Identifiers

PMID38970415
PMCPMC11600388

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.