Conspiracy theorists 'more likely to commit crimes', psychologists find

Believers more likely to claim for replacement items, refunds or compensation from a shop when they were not entitled to, according to new research

People who believe in conspiracy theories are more likely to be involved in low-level crime, according to a new study.

While they have previously been associated with prejudice, political disengagement and environmental inaction, psychologists at the universities of Kent and Staffordshire said they can also make people more inclined to accept and actively engage in antisocial behaviour.

In a first study, the findings indicated that people who subscribed to them were more accepting of everyday crime, such as trying to claim for replacement items, refunds or compensation from a shop when they were not entitled to.

A second study concluded that exposure to conspiracy theories made people more likely to intend to engage in everyday crime in the future.

Publishing their findings in the British Journal of Social Psychology they said that this tendency was directly linked to an individual’s feeling of a lack of social cohesion or shared values, known as “anomie”.

“Our research has shown for the first time the role that conspiracy theories can play in determining an individual’s attitude to everyday crime," said Professor Karen Douglas, of Kent’s School of Psychology. “It demonstrates that people subscribing to the view that others have conspired might be more inclined toward unethical actions.”

Dr Dan Jolley, of Staffordshire University added: “People believing in conspiracy theories are more likely to be accepting of everyday crime, while exposure to theories increases a feeling of anomie, which in turn predicts increased future everyday crime intentions.”