Do Your Own Research (?) A Weak Link Between Conspiracism and Preference for First-Hand Evidence in a Perceptual Task

Abstract

Conspiracy theorists often prompt others to “Do your own research.” Could a general desire for such epistemic autonomy—to make up one’s own mind rather than deferring to others’ testimony—explain why some people are attracted to conspiracy theories? In four pre-registered studies (United States and United Kingdom, N = 1196), we test whether participants more likely to believe in conspiracy theories have a stronger preference for forming their own beliefs independently. Participants chose between doing a difficult perceptual task themselves or relying on an expert’s answer. Internal fixed-effect meta-analyses revealed a weak but statistically significant relationship between belief in conspiracy theories and preference for first-hand evidence. By contrast, the relationship between epistemic individualism and this preference was stronger and more robust. This suggests that, although individuals endorsing conspiracy theories express a stronger preference for “doing their own research,” their behavior mostly does not match this preference in non-conspiratorial contexts.