08/02/2025

How Feeling Wronged Can Fuel Conspiracy Beliefs

New research shows that perceived victimhood may fuel conspiracy thinking

When we think of conspiracy theories, we often picture elaborate tales involving secret cabals and hidden agendas. But at their core, these stories are also deeply emotional narratives — ones that revolve around harm, betrayal, and a sense of victimhood. Conspiracy theories don’t just point fingers at shadowy elites; they speak to the lived experience of individuals who feel wronged by the world. In a new international study I co-authored, we explored how people’s personal sensitivity to injustice and their tendency to see themselves as victims may play a role in shaping these beliefs.What if believing in conspiracy theories isn’t only about distrusting others, but also about trying to make sense of one’s own perceived mistreatment?

Overview of Our Study

This research examined whether people who are more sensitive to being treated unfairly — a trait called Victim Justice Sensitivity (VJS) — are more likely to believe in conspiracies. Specifically, this study focused on evaluating victimhood on the individual level and measured how some people are dispositionally more likely to perceive and react to injustice personally.

The research consisted of two initial studies in Germany with about 370 people each. Then we evaluated these questions using a large cross-national survey in 15 countries with about 15,000 people (this was part of the dataset of the large trust in science study about which I wrote). We measured both general conspiracy beliefs (such as the idea that big events are being hidden from the public) and specific ones about climate change and vaccines.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Psychology Today.