Consequences of Conspiracy Theories

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorBasinger, Scott J.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberClifford, Scott
dc.contributor.committeeMemberSimas, Elizabeth N.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberEnders, Adam M.
dc.creatorKim, Yongkwang
dc.date.accessioned2020-06-02T03:41:51Z
dc.date.available2020-06-02T03:41:51Z
dc.date.createdMay 2020
dc.date.issued2020-05
dc.date.submittedMay 2020
dc.date.updated2020-06-02T03:41:51Z
dc.description.abstractAlthough a growing body of studies has explored the antecedents of people’s adoption of conspiracy beliefs, the behavioral and attitudinal consequences of conspiracy theories—particularly regarding political engagement and policy stances—have been less explored. Research has looked at conspiracy beliefs, exposure to specific conspiracy theories, conspiracy thinking, and the communication of conspiracy theories as predictor variables. To date, the findings are mixed due to conceptual differences and the selection of predictors with different functions and aspects. I offer new evidence. First, I explore whether conspiracy beliefs translate into political engagement. Having analyzed the 2012 American National Election Study, I find a positive association between conspiracy beliefs and political activities. Second, by manipulating exposure to a nascent conspiracy theory that emerged during the 2016 presidential primary elections, I examine whether exposure to conspiracy theories drives intention to engage in politics. Across two original survey experiments, the results indicate that conspiracy theories may encourage people to get involved in politics. Third, by analyzing data from an original survey, I demonstrate that contemporary conspiracy beliefs substantively affect believers’ policy stances and might potentially distort policy debate and policy implementation. Findings suggest that consequences of conspiracy theories are substantial. The acceptance of CTs impacts citizens’ support for government actions to address the problems alluded to by such claims, which in turn distort policy debates and affect legislation. At the same time, however, the findings demonstrate that the spread of conspiracy theories is not uniformly detrimental to society in that conspiracy theories stimulate political engagement.
dc.description.departmentPolitical Science, Department of
dc.format.digitalOriginborn digital
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationPortions of this document appear in: Kim, Yongkwang. "How conspiracy theories can stimulate political engagement." Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties (2019): 1-21.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10657/6576
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. UH Libraries has secured permission to reproduce any and all previously published materials contained in the work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).
dc.subjectconspiracy theories
dc.subjectpolitical participation
dc.subjectmobilization
dc.subjectpolitical engagement
dc.titleConsequences of Conspiracy Theories
dc.type.dcmiText
dc.type.genreThesis
thesis.degree.collegeCollege of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
thesis.degree.departmentPolitical Science, Department of
thesis.degree.disciplinePolitical Science
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Houston
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
KIM-DISSERTATION-2020.pdf
Size:
823.15 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
PROQUEST_LICENSE.txt
Size:
4.43 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
LICENSE.txt
Size:
1.81 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download

Collections

Published ETD Collection