To Be in the Know: Motivational Foundations at the Intersection of Conspiracy Belief and Protest in Germany
Two years after the beginning of the Corona pandemic, an emergent scene of conspiracy believers continues to hold regular demonstrations in order to voice their political interests. Although previous research shows that conspiracy beliefs address basic human needs, the interindividual reasons underlying conspiracy-informed protest and their connection to overall societal trends are unclear.
In her dissertation project, Mona Klöckner addresses the question of how and in what ways protesters' beliefs contribute to their fulfillment of psychological needs, as well as (gender-specific) identity and reality construction within individual psychosocial realities. With the help of interviews and subsequent quantitative assessments in conspiracy-informed protest groups, the project aims at exploring possible paths of prevention as well as of constructive political engagement between conspiracy believers and and non-believers.