Conspiracy Theory Beliefs and Tendency for Interpersonal Victimhood: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Biases

• Maia Mestvirishvili ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad Estatal de Tiflis Ivane Javakhishvili
• Localización: International Journal of Psychological Research, ISSN 2011-2084, ISSN-e 2011-2084, Vol. 19, Nº. 1, 2026, págs. 35-42
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.21500/20112084.8137
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Creencias en Teorías de la Conspiración y Tendencia al Victimismo Interpersonal: El Papel Mediador de los Sesgos Cognitivos
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo (pdf)
• Resumen
  • español

    Introducción: este estudio examina la relación entre las creencias en teorías de la conspiración y la tendencia al victimismo interpersonal, y el papel mediador de los sesgos cognitivos. Método: Una muestra de 245 participantes georgianos (67% mujeres; M = edad = 28.38 años) completó medidas validadas de ideación conspiracionista (GCB), sesgos cognitivos disfuncionales (DACOBS) y tendencia al victimismo interpersonal (TIV). Resultados: Los análisis de regresión jerárquica y mediación paralela confirmaron que las creencias conspiradoras predicen significativamente la TIV (β = .381), y que la atención a la amenaza y el sesgo de atribución externa median parcialmente esta relación. Conclusión: La adhesión a las teorías de la conspiración puede generar un sentido crónico de victimismo interpersonal a través de vías cognitivas específicas, con implicaciones para intervenciones psicoeducativas y terapéuticas.

  • English

    Introduction: this study investigates the relationship between conspiracy theory beliefs and tendency for interpersonal victimhood, and the mediating role of cognitive biases. Method: A sample of 245 Georgian nationals (67% female; M age = 28.38 years) completed validated measures of conspiracist ideation (GCB), dysfunctional cognitive biases (DACOBS), and tendency for interpersonal victimhood (TIV). Results: Hierarchical regression and parallel mediation analyses (PROCESS Model 4) confirmed that conspiracy beliefs significantly predict TIV (β = .381), and that attention to threat and external attribution bias partially mediate this relationship. Conclusion: Endorsement of conspiracy theories may engender a chronic sense of interpersonal victimhood through specific cognitive pathways, with practical implications for psychoeducational and therapeutic intervention.

• Referencias bibliográficas
  • Bertin, P. (2024). The victimizing effects of conspiracy beliefs. Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 232(1), 26–37. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000542
  • Bilewicz, M., & Liu, J. (2020). Collective victimhood as a form of adaptation: A world-systems perspective. En The Social Psychology of...
  • Brotherton, R., & French, C. C. (2014). The relationship between proportionality bias and belief in conspiracy theories. Applied Cognitive...
  • Brotherton, R., & French, C. C. (2015). Intention seekers: Conspiracist ideation and biased attributions of intentionality. PLOS ONE,...
  • Brotherton, R., French, C. C., & Pickering, A. D. (2013). Measuring belief in conspiracy theories: The Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale....
  • Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., & Cichocka, A. (2017). The psychology of conspiracy theories. Current Directions in Psychological Science,...
  • Douglas, K. M., Uscinski, J. E., Sutton, R. M., Cichocka, A., Nefes, T., Ang, C. S., & Deravi, F. (2019). Understanding conspiracy theories....
  • Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A.-G., & Buchner, A. (2007). GPower 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral,...
  • Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A.-G. (2009). Statistical power analyses using GPower 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression...
  • Field, A. (2017). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
  • Freeman, D., Garety, P. A., Kuipers, E., Fowler, D., & Bebbington, P. E. (2008). Acting on persecutory delusions: The importance of safety...
  • Gabay, R., Hameiri, B., Rubel-Lifschitz, T., & Nadler, A. (2020). The tendency for interpersonal victimhood: The personality construct...
  • Gabay, R., Hameiri, B., Rubel-Lifschitz, T., & Nadler, A. (2023). The tendency for interpersonal victimhood. En Encountering the Suffering...
  • Gagliardi, L. (2023). The role of cognitive biases in conspiracy beliefs: A literature review. Journal of Economic Surveys, 38(1), 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12604
  • Garety, P. A., & Freeman, D. (1999). Cognitive approaches to delusions: A critical review of theories and evidence. British Journal of...
  • Giuliani, A., & Presaghi, F. (2024). Populism, conspiracist beliefs and engaging in pro-environmental behaviors: The key role of political...
  • Hayes, A. F. (2022). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (3rd ed.). Guilford...
  • Jolley, D., Douglas, K. M., & Sutton, R. M. (2018). Blaming a few bad apples to save a threatened barrel: The system-justifying function...
  • Kuhn, S. A. K., Lieb, R., Freeman, D., Andreou, C., & Zander-Schellenberg, T. (2022). Coronavirus conspiracy beliefs in the German-speaking...
  • Moulding, R., Nix-Carnell, S., Schnabel, A., Nedeljkovic, M., Burnside, E. E., Lentini, A. F., & Mehzabin, N. (2016). Better the devil...
  • Osborne, J. W., & Waters, E. (2002). Four assumptions of multiple regression that researchers should always test. Practical Assessment,...
  • Pytlik, N., Soll, D., & Mehl, S. (2020). Thinking preferences and conspiracy belief: Intuitive thinking and the jumping to conclusions...
  • Sullivan, D., Landau, M. J., & Rothschild, Z. K. (2010). An existential function of enemyship: Evidence that people attribute influence...
  • Toribio-Flórez, D., Altenmüller, M. S., Douglas, K. M., Gollwitzer, M., Adinugroho, I., Alfano, M., & Wojcik, A. D. (2025). Victims of...
  • van der Gaag, M., Schütz, C., ten Napel, A., Landa, Y., Delespaul, P., Bak, M., Tschacher, W., & de Hert, M. (2013). Development of the...
  • van Prooijen, J.-W. (2021). Injustice without evidence: The unique role of conspiracy theories in social justice research. Social Justice...
  • van Prooijen, J.-W., & Prooijen, R. (2022). The paradox of conspiracy theories. Social Cognition, 40(1), 72–87. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.2022.40.1.72