Conspiracy theories have become a staple of the modern world. They center around explaining major national or global events by exposing what believers see as hidden information. Primal Beliefs are beliefs about “the overall character of the world rather than particular topics within it” (Clifton et al., 2019). This project explored potential correlations between Primal Beliefs and conspiracy beliefs. Participants filled out an online questionnaire asking about their conspiracy and Primal Beliefs as well as demographic information such as age. Additional open-ended questions were included to probe participants’ motivations and experiences. Data was collected from people living in the United States. Analyses revealed that higher endorsement of conspiracy theories was related to specific Primal Beliefs. No significant connections between age and conspiracy endorsement were found. In an attempt to humanize believers, I examined potential impacts of discrimination and institutional distrust on conspiracy belief.
