Conspiracy theorists ‘more likely to commit crimes’

Conspiracy theorists are more inclined to accept and actively engage in antisocial behaviour and more likely to commit low-level crimes, two new psychology surveys have found.

A study published in the British Journal of Social Psychology revealed people who subscribe to conspiracies are more accepting of everyday crime, such as trying to claim false refunds or compensation from shops.

A second concluded that exposure to theories outside of the accepted norm made people more likely to engage in everyday low-level crime in the future.

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The Independent says conspiracy theorists “have previously been associated with prejudice, political disengagement and environmental inaction”, but researchers have proven how a greater acceptance and proclivity towards crime is directly linked to an individual’s feeling of a lack of social cohesion or shared values.

Professor Douglas told Phys.org: “Our research has shown for the first time the role that conspiracy theories can play in determining an individual’s attitude to everyday crime. It demonstrates that people subscribing to the view that others have conspired might be more inclined toward unethical actions.”

However, belief in conspiracy theories is far more widespread that most people think.

In 2015, University of Cambridge research found most Britons ticked a box when presented with a list of just five theories, ranging from the existence of a secret group controlling world events, to contact with aliens.

“This suggests that, contrary to popular belief, the typical conspiracy theorist is not a middle-aged man living in his mother's basement sporting a tinfoil hat,” says the BBC.

“When you actually look at the demographic data, belief in conspiracies cuts across social class, it cuts across gender and it cuts across age,” says Professor Chris French, a psychologist at Goldsmith's, University of London.

It also cuts across political divides, with research from the US concluding whether you are on the left or the right, you are just as likely to see plots against you.