Cultural tightness predicts higher levels of generic and content-specific conspiracy beliefs: Cross-country, correlational and experimental evidence

Conspiracy theories polarize people in different cultural contexts around important issues such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Across four studies, we examined whether cultural tightness, that describes the extent to which social norms are strictly enforced and deviance is discouraged, predicts various conspiracy beliefs, demonstrating a robust relationship between these two variables. In Study 1 (N = 31,894), we found that cultural tightness positively predicted COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, after controlling for individual- and country-level variables. Study 2 (N = 9,000) extended these findings to climate change, vaccine-related, and generic conspiracy beliefs. Study 3 (N = 370) examined this relationship at the individual level, showing that perceived cultural tightness predicted climate change and generic conspiracy beliefs, and that this relationship was mediated by the need for cognitive closure. Study 4 (N = 390) experimentally manipulated perceived tightness indicating that individuals exposed to a scenario about a future society based on law and order (tightness condition) reported higher climate change and generic conspiracy beliefs compared to those in the loose (a future society based on openness) and control (no scenario) conditions. These findings are discussed in light of cultural factors that can breed conspiracy beliefs.