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The impact of social desirability bias on conspiracy belief measurement across cultures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2022

Steven M. Smallpage ,
Adam M. Enders ,
Hugo Drochon  and
Joseph E. Uscinski Open the ORCID record for Joseph E. Uscinski [Opens in a new window]
Steven M. Smallpage
Affiliation:
Political Science Department, Stetson University, DeLand, FL, USA
Adam M. Enders
Affiliation:
Political Science Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Hugo Drochon
Affiliation:
School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
Joseph E. Uscinski*
Affiliation:
Political Science Department, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: uscinski@miami.edu
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Abstract

Polls asking respondents about their beliefs in conspiracy theories have become increasingly commonplace. However, researchers have expressed concern about the willingness of respondents to divulge beliefs in conspiracy theories due to the stigmatization of those ideas. We use an experimental design similar to a list experiment to decipher the effect of social desirability bias on survey responses to eight conspiratorial statements. Our study includes 8290 respondents across seven countries, allowing for the examination of social desirability bias across various political and cultural contexts. While the proportion of individuals expressing belief in each statement varies across countries, we observe identical treatment effects: respondents systematically underreport conspiracy beliefs. These findings suggest that conspiracy beliefs may be more prominent than current estimates suggest.

Keywords

Conspiracy theorymeasurement errormisinformationsocial desirability biastrust
Type
Original Article
Information
Political Science Research and Methods , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , July 2023 , pp. 555 - 569
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Political Science Association

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https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/NUOE6Z
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