Are individuals from lower social classes more susceptible to conspiracy theories? An explanation from the compensatory control theory

Previous research has indicated that social class is likely to be an important factor that influences individuals’ beliefs in conspiracy theories; however, the underlying psychological mechanisms between these two variables remain unclear. This study directly investigated the relationship between these two variables through questionnaires and experimental manipulation, and introduced the perspective of compensatory control theory to investigate the serial mediating role of perceived control and need for structure in the process of social class influencing individuals’ belief in conspiracy theories. The results showed that social class can significantly negatively predict individuals’ belief in conspiracy theories, and perceived control and need for structure played a serial mediating role between them. To some extent, these results reveal the psychological mechanism that causes the higher likelihood of people from lower social classes to believe in conspiracy theories, and advances the explanation from the compensatory control theory.