Some people deliberately spread conspiracy theories. What are the reputational benefits and costs of doing so? The Adaptive‐Conspiracism hypothesis proposes that it pays to be vigilant against possible conspiracies, especially in case of intergroup threat. Those who spread conspiracy theories may therefore be seen as valuable group members. Few studies have focused on the reputational impact of spreading a conspiracy theory. We conducted five studies (NPilot = 303; NStudy1 = 388; NStudy2 = 560; NStudy3 = 391; NStudy4 = 373) where participants rated a conspiracy spreader (vs. a neutral person) on a range of personality traits in different intergroup contexts. The results indicated that conspiracy spreaders were consistently perceived as more dominant and less warm than people making non‐conspiratorial claims about certain events. Moreover, intergroup conflict attenuated the negative effects of spreading conspiracy theories on competence and warmth. These findings support the notion that besides drawbacks, spreading conspiracy theories can have benefits for the spreader's reputation, particularly during an intergroup conflict.

中文翻译：

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传播阴谋论的动机和声誉后果


有些人故意散布阴谋论。这样做的声誉、好处和成本是什么？适应性阴谋论假说提出，对可能的阴谋保持警惕是值得的，尤其是在群体间威胁的情况下。因此，那些传播阴谋论的人可能被视为有价值的群体成员。很少有研究关注传播阴谋论对声誉的影响。我们进行了 5 项研究 （NPilot = 303;NStudy1 = 388;NStudy2 = 560;NStudy3 = 391;NStudy4 = 373），其中参与者根据不同群体间背景下的一系列人格特征对阴谋论传播者（相对于中立者）进行评分。结果表明，与对某些事件提出非阴谋论主张的人相比，阴谋论传播者一直被认为更占主导地位，更不热情。此外，群体间冲突削弱了传播阴谋论对能力和热情的负面影响。这些发现支持这样一种观点，即除了缺点之外，传播阴谋论还可以对传播者的声誉有好处，尤其是在群体间冲突期间。