POPULISM IN TIMES OF CRISIS: THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERNALITY-EXTERNALITY AND CONSPIRACY BELIEFS FOR POPULIST ATTITUDES

• Authors: Václaviková Ivana , Viteková Lucia
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Modern democracies are confronted with the increasing resistance to elites, the rise of demagogic leaders and the spread of misinformation. Globally, populism has reached an all-time high, with populists currently governing in more than 25% of countries. Slovakia has a tradition of favouring populist political subjects and leaders. Populist attitudes are widespread, while support for certain features of liberal democracy is declining. The negative effects of populist attitudes and conspiracy beliefs on society can be far-reaching, particularly in important social and health-related areas. This article focuses on conspiracy beliefs, internality/externality and socio-demographic characteristics, and examines their predictive significance for populist attitudes in Slovak society. Data were collected in three phases, during and after the pandemic, using the Populist Attitudes Scale, the Generic Conspiracy Beliefs Scale, and the authors' questionnaire on belief in conspiracy claims related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the sample of adult men and women (N=1345), the predictive significance of generic conspiracy beliefs, internal and external locus of control, including gender, age and education, was confirmed. Conspiracy beliefs related to the COVID-19 pandemic were not found to be significant. Populist attitudes are likely to be better explained by a concept that captures conspiracy beliefs in general. The results suggest a more complex interplay between different groups of interrelated factors. The importance of different psychological and socio-demographic variables for populist attitudes undoubtedly requires further investigation of the context in which these attitudes emerge.

Keywords

EN

POPULIST ATTITUDES; CONSPIRACY BELIEFS; SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

• Publisher: Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Social Sciences
• Journal: Človek a spoločnosť. Internetový časopis pre pôvodné teoretické a výskumné štúdie z oblasti spoločenských vied
• Year: 2024
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 2
• Pages: -

Contributors

author

Václaviková Ivana

• Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Slovak Republic

• https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6567-9371

author

Viteková Lucia

• https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6788-0274

Identifiers

DOI

doi.org/10.31577/cas.2024.02.630