Article
Isolated But Not Necessarily Lonely: An Exploratory Analysis of Subjective Isolation and Conspiracist Ideation
Authors
Madhwa S. Galgali, Peter J. Helm, Jamie Arndt
Publication
Journal of Individual Differences
Abstract
Previous research points to social/affiliative needs as playing an important role in orienting people towards conspiratorial thinking. Yet no research to date has compared the relative contribution of different forms of subjective interpersonal isolation to general conspiracist ideation (CI). Four studies (N = 2,452) compare the associations between three forms of subjective isolation (loneliness, existential isolation, alienation/anomie) and CI. Results from Studies 1–3 indicate that existential isolation and alienation, but not loneliness, independently predict higher CI over and above other relevant predictors. Study 4 found that after controlling for relevant covariates, only anomie predicted CI. Exploratory analyses revealed that unique effects of existential isolation on CI emerged when the breakdown of the leadership subdimension of anomie was excluded from the model. Implications of the four studies are discussed.
Links
How is this information collected?
This collection of Montana State authored publications is collected by the Library to highlight the achievements of Montana State researchers and more fully understand the research output of the University. They use a number of resources to pull together as complete a list as possible and understand that there may be publications that are missed. If you note the omission of a current publication or want to know more about the collection and display of this information email Leila Sterman.