Measuring Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories: Developing the Turkish Conspiracy Mentality Scale (TCMS)
Abdullah Koçak, Nuh AkçakayaScales that claim to measure generic conspiracy beliefs are significant instruments for understanding people’s tendency to believe in specific conspiracy theories. Several studies have been conducted on conspiracy theories in Türkiye in recent years. However, there is a lack of a scale that measures generic conspiracy beliefs and a scale that can be developed by considering the local socio-cultural dynamics of Türkiye. This study aims to develop a psychometrically valid and reliable Turkish scale for assessing generic conspiracy beliefs. This study introduces the Turkish Conspiracy Mentality Scale (TCMS), which was developed to measure generic conspiracist beliefs and predict specific theory endorsements. The validity and reliability of the scale were evaluated with reference to three studies. Study 1 (N=112) explored four critical dimensions of conspiracy: deep state, sexuality, foreign powers, and health. Study 2 (N=374) confirmed the content, face, criterion, predictive, and construct validity and reliability of the scale, while Study 3 (N=1110) provided further evidence of the psychometric strength of the scale in a representative Türkiye sample. A recent study conducted in NUTS 1 regions has shown that the scale can be used in a large and representative sample. The findings of this study highlight the power of TCMS in measuring and predicting generic and specific conspiracy theory beliefs.
PDF View
References
- Abalakina-Paap, M., et al. (1999). Beliefs in conspiracies. Political Psychology, 3(20), 637-647. https://doi.org/10.1111/0162-895X.00160 google scholar
- Akcakaya, N. (2023). Türkiye’de komplo zihniyeti: Söylemler, aktörler ve eğilimler üzerine bir araştırma. Konya: Selcuk University (Doctoral Thesis). google scholar
- Alper, S., Bayrak, F. and Yilmaz, O. (2020). Psychological correlates of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and preventive measures: Evidence from Turkey. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/mt3p4 google scholar
- Bali, R. (2008). A scapegoat for all seasons: The Dönmes or Crypto-Jews of Turkey. (P. Bessemer, Çev.) İstanbul: The Isis Press. google scholar
- Barkun, M. (2003). A culture of conspiracy: Apocalyptic visions contemporary America. USA: University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0006 google scholar
- Basham, L., & Dentith, M. R. (2018). The psychologists’ conspiracy panic: They seek to cure everyone. Dentith in, Taking Conspiracy Theories Seriously (s. 79-94). USA: Rowman & Littlefield. google scholar
- Baserdem, U. (2019). Bilim karşıtlığı komplo teorileri ve ölüm: Bilim inkârının ve komplo inancının dehşet yönetimi açısından incelenmesi. Ankara: Başkent University (Master Thesis). google scholar
- Brotherton, R. (2015). Suspicious minds: Why we believe conspiracy theories. US: Bloomsbury Publishing. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781472944528 google scholar
- Brotherton, R., French, C. and Pickering, A. (2013). Measuring beliefs in conspiracy theories: Generic conspiracist beliefs scale. Frontiers in Psychology, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00279 google scholar
- Bruder, M., & vd. (2013). Measuring individual differences in generic beliefs in conspiracy theories across cultures: Conspiracy mentality questionnaire. Frontiers in Psychology, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00225 google scholar
- Buhari, O. K. (2021). Komplo teorileri epistemoloji, bilgi sosyolojisi, psikoloji ve siyaset bilimi kapsamında. İstanbul: İnsan Yayınları. google scholar
- Bozkurt, V. (2022). Komplo Teorileri: Komplo Teorilerine İnancı Etkileyen Faktörler. Kamuda Sosyal Politika, 15(42), pp. 63-68. google scholar
- Butter, M., & Knight, P. (2019). The history of conspiracy theory: A review and commentary. J. E. Uscinski, Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them (s. 33-52). US: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0002 google scholar
- Dagnall, N., et al. (2015). Conspiracy theory and cognitive style: A worldview. Frontiers in Psychology, 206(6), https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00206. google scholar
- Darwin, H., & et al. (2011). Beliefs in conspiracy theories. The role of paranormal belief, paranoid ideation and schizotypy. Personality and İndividual Differences, 8(50), 1289-1293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.02.027 google scholar
- DeVellis, R. F. (2017). Scale development theory and applications. USA: Sage. google scholar
- Douglas, K. M., and R. M. (2011). Does it take one person to know one? The endorsement of conspiracy theories is influenced by personal willingness to conspire. British Journal of Social Psychology, 3(50), 544-552. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8309.2010.02018.x google scholar
- Erdogan, E., & et al. (2022). İnfodemi ve bilgi düzensizlikleri: Kavramlar, nedenler ve çözümler. İstanbul: İstanbul Bilgi University Press. google scholar
- Ertür, B. (2016). The conspiracy archive: Turkey’s deep state on trial. M. Stewart, and H. van Rijswijk, in Law, Violence, Memory: Uncovering the Counter-Archive (s. 177-194). USA: Routledge; 2014. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315737157-10. google scholar
- Furnham, A. (2013). Commercial conspiracy theories: A pilot study. Frontiers in Psychology, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00379 google scholar
- Goertzel, T. (1994). Beliefs in conspiracy theories. Political Psychology, 4(15), 731-742. https://doi.org/10.2307/3791630 google scholar
- Granados Samayoa, J. A., & al., e. (2022). A gateway conspiracy Belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories prospectively predicts greater conspiracist ideation. Plos one, 17(10), e0275502., 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275502 google scholar
- Gokcek, F. M. (2011). The transformation of Turkey: Redefining the state and society from the Ottoman empire to the modern era. London, New York: I. B. Tauris, google scholar
- Guida, M. (2008). The Sevres syndrome and “komplo” theories in the Islamist and secular press. Turkish Studies, 1 (9), 37-52. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683840701813994 google scholar
- Gürpinar, D. (2020). Conspiracy theories in Turkey conspiracy nation. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429020360 google scholar
- Hu, L.-T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). 1999) Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118 google scholar
- Imhoff, R., and Bruder, M. (2014). Speaking (un-) truth to power: Conspiracy mentality as a generalized political attitude. European Journal of Personality, 1(28), 25-43. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.1930 google scholar
- Imhoff, R., & et al. (2021). Resolving the puzzle of conspiracy worldview and political activism: Belief in secret plots decreases normative but increases nonnormative political engagement. Social Psychological and Personality Science 71-79. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550619896491 google scholar
- Imhoff, R., & et al. (2022). Conspiracy mentality and political orientation. Nature Human Behavior, 3(6), 392-403. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01258 google scholar
- Imhoff, R., & et al. (2022). Conspiracy mentality and political orientation across 26 countries. Nature Human Behavior, 6(3), 392-403. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01258-7 google scholar
- Jennings, W., & et. al. (2021). Lack of trust, conspiracy theories, and social media use predict COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Vaccines, 6(9), 593. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9060593 google scholar
- Karaosmanoglu, K. (2009). Bir komplo söyleminden parçalar: Komplo zihniyeti, sıradan faşizm ve new age. Kültür ve İletisim, 1(12), 95-126. google scholar
- Karaosmanoglu, K. (2021). The discourse on üst akil includes: The search for hegemony in the Turkish media. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 77-99. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2021.1872233 google scholar
- Lantian, A., et al. (2016). Measuring beliefs in conspiracy theories: Validation of a French and English single-ıtem scale. International Review of Social Psychology, 1 (29), 1-14. http://dx.doi.Org/10.5334/irsp.8 google scholar
- Lawshe, C. H. (1975). A quantitative approach to content validity. Personnel Psychology (28), 563-575. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1975.tb01393.x google scholar
- Leman, P.J. and Cinnirella, M. (2007). A major event has a major cause: Evidence of the role of heuristics in reasoning about conspiracy theories. Social Psychological Review, 2(9), 18-28. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsspr.2007.9.2.18 google scholar
- Leone, L., & et al. (2018). Avoidant attachment style and conspiracy ideation. Personality and Individual Differences(134), 329-336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid. 2018.06.043 google scholar
- Milosevic, J., & et al. (2021). Beyond general political attitudes: Conspiracy mentality as a global belief system predicts the endorsement of international and local conspiracy theories. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 1(9), 144-158. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.5609 google scholar
- Moscovici, S. (1987). The conspiracy mentality. C. R. Graumann & S. Moscovici içinde, “Changing Conceptions of Conspiracy (s. 151-169). New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4618-3_9 google scholar
- 4 Nefes, T. S. (2015). Understanding anti-semitic rhetoric in Turkey through the se’vres syndrome. Turkish Studies, 4(16), 572-587. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2015.1084876 google scholar
- Nefes, T. S. (2019). The conspiratorial style of Turkish politics in discussing the deep state in the parliament. J. E. Uscinski içinde, Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe ThemConspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them (s. 385-394). New York: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190844073.003.0026 google scholar
- Osborne, E. W. (1999). Cui bono? An economic model of conspiracy theories. 74th Annual Western Economic Association Conference. google scholar
- Sayin, O., and Bozkurt, V. (2021). Sociology of coronavirus conspiracies in Turkey: Who believes and why? G. Dawes, H. Gulerce, & P. Westenbroek içinde. 2018. The Societal İmpacts of COVID-19: A Transnational Perspective (s. 79-91). İstanbul: Istanbul University Press. https://doi.org/10.26650/B/SS49.2021.006.06 google scholar
- Schermelleh-Engel, K., & Moosbrugger, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 8(2), 23-74. google scholar
- Shapiro, G. K., & et. al. (2016). Validation of the vaccine conspiracy beliefs scale. Papillomavirus research(2), 167-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pvr.2016.09.001 google scholar
- Stieger, S., et al. (2013). Girl in the cellar: A repeated cross-sectional Investigation of Conspiracy Theories About the Pretrial of Natascha Kampusch. Frontiers in Psychology(4), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00297 google scholar
- Stojanov, A. (2019). Conspiracy theory beliefs: Measurement and the role of perceived lack of control. New Zealand: University of Otago (Doctoral Thesis). https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000381 google scholar
- Stojanov, A., & Halberstadt, J. (2019). The conspiracy mentality scale: Distinguishing between irrational and rational suspicion. Social Psychology, 4(50), 215-232. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000381 google scholar
- Stojanov, A., & Hannawa, A. (2022). Validating a German version of the conspiracy mentality scale (CMS). Journal of Personality Assessment, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2022.2149408 google scholar
- Sutton, R. M., and Douglas, K. M. (2020). Conspiracy theories and the conspiracy mindset: Implications for political ideology. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences(34), 118-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.02.015 google scholar
- Swami, V., & et al. (2011). Conspiracist ideation in Britain and Austria: Evidence of a monological belief system and associations between individual psychological differences and real-world and fictitious conspiracy theories. British Journal of Psychology 3(102), 443-63. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.2010.02004.x google scholar
- Swami, V., &etal. (2017). An examination of the factorial and convergent validity of four measures of conspiracist ideation, with recommendations for researchers. PloS one, 2(12), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0172617 google scholar
- Swami, V., Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Furnham, A. (2010). Unanswered Questions: A Preliminary İnvestigation of personality and individual difference predictors of 9/11 Conspiracy Theories. 24(6). Applied Cognitive Psychology, 6(24), 749-761. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1583 google scholar
- Tabachnick, B. G., and L. S. (2006). Using multivariate statistics. Boston: Pearson. google scholar
- van-Prooijen, J. W., Spadaro, G., & Wang, H. (2022). Suspicion of institutions: How do distrust and conspiracy theories deteriorate social relationships. Current Opinion in Psychology(43), 65-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.06.013 google scholar
- Wheaton, B., Muthen , B., Alwin, D. F., & Summers, G. F. (1977). Assess the reliability and stability in panel models. Sociological Methodology(8), 84-136. https://doi.org/10.2307/270754 google scholar
- Wood, M. J., & Douglas, K. M. (2015). Online communication serves as a window to conspiratorial worldviews. Frontiers in Psychology, 6(836), https://doi.org/10.3389/FPSYG.2015.00836/BIBTEX google scholar
- Wood, M. J., Douglas, K. M., and Sutton, R. M. (2012). Dead and alive: Beliefs in contradictory conspiracy theories. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 3(6), 767-773. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550611434786 google scholar
Citations
Copy and paste a formatted citation or use one of the options to export in your chosen format
EXPORT
APA
Koçak, A., & Akçakaya, N. (2024). Measuring Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories: Developing the Turkish Conspiracy Mentality Scale (TCMS). Journal of Economy Culture and Society, 0(0), -. https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2024-1500647
AMA
Koçak A, Akçakaya N. Measuring Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories: Developing the Turkish Conspiracy Mentality Scale (TCMS). Journal of Economy Culture and Society. 2024;0(0):-. https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2024-1500647
ABNT
Koçak, A.; Akçakaya, N. Measuring Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories: Developing the Turkish Conspiracy Mentality Scale (TCMS). Journal of Economy Culture and Society, [Publisher Location], v. 0, n. 0, p. -, 2024.
Chicago: Author-Date Style
Koçak, Abdullah, and Nuh Akçakaya. 2024. “Measuring Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories: Developing the Turkish Conspiracy Mentality Scale (TCMS).” Journal of Economy Culture and Society 0, no. 0: -. https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2024-1500647
Chicago: Humanities Style
Koçak, Abdullah, and Nuh Akçakaya. “Measuring Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories: Developing the Turkish Conspiracy Mentality Scale (TCMS).” Journal of Economy Culture and Society 0, no. 0 (Nov. 2024): -. https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2024-1500647
Harvard: Australian Style
Koçak, A & Akçakaya, N 2024, 'Measuring Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories: Developing the Turkish Conspiracy Mentality Scale (TCMS)', Journal of Economy Culture and Society, vol. 0, no. 0, pp. -, viewed 21 Nov. 2024, https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2024-1500647
Harvard: Author-Date Style
Koçak, A. and Akçakaya, N. (2024) ‘Measuring Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories: Developing the Turkish Conspiracy Mentality Scale (TCMS)’, Journal of Economy Culture and Society, 0(0), pp. -. https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2024-1500647 (21 Nov. 2024).
MLA
Koçak, Abdullah, and Nuh Akçakaya. “Measuring Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories: Developing the Turkish Conspiracy Mentality Scale (TCMS).” Journal of Economy Culture and Society, vol. 0, no. 0, 2024, pp. -. [Database Container], https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2024-1500647
Vancouver
Koçak A, Akçakaya N. Measuring Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories: Developing the Turkish Conspiracy Mentality Scale (TCMS). Journal of Economy Culture and Society [Internet]. 21 Nov. 2024 [cited 21 Nov. 2024];0(0):-. Available from: https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2024-1500647 doi: 10.26650/JECS2024-1500647
ISNAD
Koçak, Abdullah - Akçakaya, Nuh. “Measuring Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories: Developing the Turkish Conspiracy Mentality Scale (TCMS)”. Journal of Economy Culture and Society 0/0 (Nov. 2024): -. https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2024-1500647