Tinfoil hats and togas : conspiracy ideation and the dark triad amongst university students

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the term ‘Conspiracy theories’ to the fore, and different groups of people have been found to subscribe to such beliefs more than others. For instance, individuals high in Dark Triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) may be susceptible to believing conspiracy theories to a greater extent. This present research studied conspiracy theories and Dark Triad traits in University of Malta students. Participants came from different faculties and included 119 students - mostly female (n = 82), with a mean age of 21.18 years. A quantitative methodology was employed and data was collected using an online questionnaire which assessed for demographics, general conspiracy beliefs, COVID-19 pandemic related conspiracy beliefs, and the Dark Triad traits. Bivariate statistics showed a relationship between conspiratorial beliefs and the following variables (separately): gender, subject of study, Machiavellianism and narcissism. Moreover, multiple regression found that gender, subject of study and Machiavellianism predict beliefs in general conspiracy theories, whereas narcissism and psychopathy do not. The results point to the significance of individual differences in believing in conspiracy theories, whilst highlighting the need for conspiratorial thinking to be studied in the local context.