Psychic Roots: Beliefs Tied to Politics?
Do psychic beliefs and conspiracy theories share political roots?
Imagine you're at a dinner party where one guest passionately argues that crystals can heal cancer, while another insists they had a prophetic dream about their grandmother's death. These beliefs seem worlds apart—one rooted in pseudoscience, the other in claims of extrasensory perception. Yet researchers studying over 1,000 people across two post-conflict countries discovered something unexpected: both types of believers might be more similar than we think. The data reveals intriguing patterns about how our minds process information and how our worldviews shape what we're willing to believe.
Belief in ESP and pseudoscience both linked to authoritarian worldviews.
Researchers in two post-conflict countries wanted to understand why some people believe in psychic abilities while others embrace conspiracy theories. They suspected these different 'irrational' beliefs might stem from similar psychological and political roots. The study was conducted in countries recovering from conflict, which may limit how well the findings apply to stable democracies.
People who believe in pseudoscience and those who believe in extrasensory perception share remarkably similar thinking patterns and worldviews, despite their beliefs seeming fundamentally different.
Key Findings
- Surprisingly, both psychic believers and pseudoscience enthusiasts showed remarkably similar patterns.
- Both groups relied more on intuition than analysis, and both were more likely to hold authoritarian political views.
- The researchers expected pseudoscience believers to be more conservative, but psychic believers showed similar political leanings.
What Is This About?
The team surveyed 1,042 people across three separate studies, asking about their beliefs in things like telepathy and premonitions (extrasensory perception) versus beliefs in pseudoscientific ideas. They measured how people process information - whether they rely more on gut feelings or careful analysis. They also assessed political attitudes, including authoritarian tendencies and ethnic prejudices. Finally, they tracked behaviors like using alternative medicine, reporting psychic experiences, and political activism.
Three studies surveyed 1,042 people about their beliefs in pseudoscience and extrasensory perception, measuring thinking styles, political views, and behaviors.
Both types of beliefs were linked to similar thinking patterns, authoritarian views, and behaviors, contrary to expectations that they would differ politically.
How Good Is the Evidence?
1,042 participants across three studies - a substantial sample size that's larger than many individual psychology studies, which typically involve 100-300 people. Two of the three studies were preregistered, meaning the analysis plan was filed publicly before data collection.
Supporters argue this research reveals important connections between thinking styles and political attitudes that help explain how misinformation spreads. They see it as valuable for understanding social polarization. Skeptics worry about labeling diverse beliefs as 'irrational' and question whether the post-conflict setting limits broader applicability. They also note that correlation doesn't prove these beliefs are inherently problematic.
Mainstream: This is useful social psychology research about belief systems and political attitudes, with no implications for whether psychic phenomena actually exist. Moderate: The findings suggest important connections between cognitive styles and worldviews that deserve further study across different cultures. Frontier: The research reveals how social and political factors may influence openness to both genuine anomalous experiences and false beliefs.
Many assume that belief in psychic phenomena is politically neutral while conspiracy theories are more right-wing. This research suggests both types of beliefs may actually share similar authoritarian political foundations.
To settle questions about belief formation, we'd need longitudinal studies tracking how political views and paranormal beliefs develop over time, experimental studies testing whether changing thinking styles affects beliefs, and replication across diverse cultural contexts. This study provides the correlational foundation and cross-study replication, but cannot establish causation or cultural generalizability.
Both pseudoscientific and extrasensory perception beliefs were similarly predicted by information processing style and authoritarian worldviews, suggesting shared sociopolitical roots rather than distinct cognitive patterns.
Stance: Mixed
What Does It Mean?
The most striking finding? Both crystal healers and psychic believers showed nearly identical patterns of authoritarian thinking and similar behaviors—suggesting our minds might categorize 'impossible' things in surprisingly consistent ways.
Think about your social media feed - you might notice that people who share posts about crystal healing also tend to share political content with authoritarian themes. This study suggests that's not coincidence, but reflects similar underlying thinking patterns.
If these patterns hold across cultures, it could fundamentally change how we approach science education and public discourse. Rather than debunking specific beliefs one by one, we might need to focus on teaching analytical thinking skills more broadly. It also raises fascinating questions about whether our political leanings and thinking styles make us more susceptible to certain types of extraordinary claims.
Preregistration helps prevent researchers from unconsciously cherry-picking results that support their hypotheses - when the analysis plan is filed publicly before seeing the data, it's harder to manipulate findings.
Understanding Terms
What This Study Claims
Findings
Contrary to expectations, both belief types were similarly linked to authoritarian and ethnocentric worldviews
moderateBoth pseudoscientific and extrasensory perception beliefs were similarly predicted by less analytical, more intuitive thinking styles
moderateBoth beliefs were tied to similar behavioral patterns including use of non-evidence-based practices and civic activism
moderateImplications
The relationship among conservative worldview, irrational beliefs and socially relevant behaviors is important for understanding how public policies get politicized
weakThis summary is for general information about current research. It does not constitute medical advice. The scientific interpretation of these results is debated among researchers. If personally affected, please consult qualified professionals.