The examination of the relationship between honor culture, critical thinking disposition, and perfectionism with conspiracy mindset and belief in specific conspiracy theories: Two quantitative studies on university student samples

Conspiracy theories are a way of explaining events encountered by individuals, attributing them to the hidden and malevolent plans of two or more actors. Conspiracy mentality, while defined as the tendency to believe in conspiracy theories, also leads to belief in specific conspiracy theories. Belief in conspiracy theories is studied in the literature together with many different variables. In the present thesis, belief in conspiracy theories is examined within the framework of three psychological variables. In this context, the study aims to present a comprehensive quantitative contribution to the literature, examining the relationship between honor culture, critical thinking disposition, perfectionism, conspiracy mentality, and belief in specific conspiracy theories. The first study involves a sample of 201 university students, aged between 18 and 26 (M = 21.49, SD = 1.75), consisting of 162 females and 39 males. The second study's sample includes 167 university students, aged between 18 and 27 (M = 21.17, SD = 1.61), with 134 females and 33 males. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS 25.0. According to the findings from both studies, a positive relationship was found between honor culture, critical thinking disposition, perfectionism, conspiracy mentality, and belief in specific conspiracy theories. Although the hypotheses regarding critical thinking disposition showed results opposite to expectations (in a positive direction), the hypotheses concerning honor culture and perfectionism were supported. This research not only serves as a pioneering contribution to the literature but also provides detailed findings to enrich it.