Abstract
Introduction. In the modern world, one of the trends of public consciousness is the belief in conspiracy theories, which is a social risk that can damage social stability. Conspirativist mentality is a conspiracy adherent's mindset directed toward the object of the conspiracy, which is attributed special negative consequences for personal or public safety. Research on conspirativist mentality is sparse and has not previously examined the cross-regional aspect. The purpose of the study is to compare the peculiarities of conspirativist mentality and students of the southern and Northern regions of Russia.
Methods. The sample was 768 people, 55% of the them girls; the age of respondents was 19-35 years (M = 31). The following methods were used: "Methodology for measuring the type of mentality" (MITM, V. I. Pishchik, 2019), "Methodology for measuring values through fears" (V. I. Pishchik, 2022), "Anxiety Scale" (J. Taylor), "Methodology for measuring belief in conspiracy" (S. Sh. Mutalimova, V. I. Pishchik, 2014, supplemented by V. I. Pishchik, 2019), "Methodology for measuring conspirativist mentality" (V. I. Pishchik, 2023). Statistical methods: descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney test, correlation analysis, regression analysis.
Results. It was revealed that conspirativism is more represented in male respondents, predominantly in the Northern region. The type of mentality "resistant to belief in conspiracies" received the highest number of negative relations for all types of belief in conspiracies. Differences were found for the belief in clones, in informational conspiracy related to vaccination, with predominance in the southern region. Differences in belief in pharmaceutical conspiracy, level of anxiety, values; expression of the "ready-made" type of conspirativist mentality were found in the Northern region. The construct of conspirativist mentality is defined by a two-factor structure.
Discussion. Gender, age, and anxiety are consistent factors conditioning the conspirativist mentality of students. At the same time, the regional factor was also confirmed. The results can be a starting point for building educational work with students.
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