Der kausale Einfluss von Verschwörungstheorien auf persönliche Beziehungen und den Erfolg beim Dating: Wenn eine Person Verschwörungsglauben äußert, sinkt die Beziehungszufriedenheit – es sei denn, beide Personen vertreten ähnliche Überzeugungen.

I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jasp.13061

From the linked article:

Scientists reveal the causal impact of conspiracy theories on personal relationships and dating success

New research from the Journal of Applied Social Psychology presents causal evidence that conspiracy beliefs can damage relationships. Using a series of experiments, the study found that when one person expresses conspiracy beliefs, relationship satisfaction decreases—unless both individuals hold similar beliefs. The study moves beyond correlation, offering proof that the endorsement of conspiracy theories can impact the quality of interpersonal connections.

The motivation for the research stems from growing concerns about how conspiracy beliefs, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and surrounding political movements like QAnon, appear to strain interpersonal relationships. While anecdotal evidence suggests that conspiracy beliefs can lead to relationship breakdowns, there has been limited empirical research on this phenomenon.

In line with the pilot studies, participants reported significantly lower relationship satisfaction with the person they perceived to hold conspiracy beliefs, compared to the non-believer. Additionally, participants felt less attitudinal and relational closeness with the conspiracy believer, suggesting that differences in attitudes, especially related to conspiracy theories, might strain relationships.

The results showed that participants anticipated lower relationship satisfaction with someone who explicitly endorsed a conspiracy theory compared to those who either rejected the conspiracy theory or made no mention of it. This negative effect was strongest among participants with weaker conspiracy beliefs. Interestingly, participants’ own political orientation did not significantly influence these results, suggesting that the effects of conspiracy beliefs on relationship satisfaction extend beyond mere political alignment.

That’s very, uh, not-surprising.

If youve ever spoken to a conspiracy brain then this makes sense. We tolerate them in society. They are reality deniers. And their worse than evangelizers, they pretty much arent ok with those close to them not also believing in the conspiracies.

I don’t believe this for a second.

Some could argue their shared views on skydaddys aren’t so different

Imagine being married to someone who suddenly insists on eating only biodynamic. Starts with the food, adopts a fake German accents and talks about purity of blood and hierachy of races and then goes full Atlantis idiot.