Abstract
Two studies examined whether beliefs about trait innateness, psychological essentialism, cognitive processing tendencies, and demographic factors were associated with endorsement of conspiracy beliefs. In Study 1 (N = 135), hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to examine whether perceived innateness and psychological essentialism were associated with conspiracy beliefs after controlling for demographic variables. Results indicated that perceived innateness was positively associated with conspiracy belief endorsement, whereas psychological essentialism was not related. Study 2 (N = 118) extended this model by including measures of intuitive-experiential thinking, rational-analytic thinking, agency detection, and pattern perception, in addition to perceived innateness. In this study, perceived innateness and agency detection were significantly associated with conspiracy belief endorsement. Intuitive-experiential thinking showed a marginal positive association, whereas rational-analytic thinking, pattern perception, and psychological essentialism do not appear to be related to conspiracy belief endorsement. The implications of these findings are discussed.