University of Kent
k.douglas@kent.ac.uk
Karen Douglas is Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. She has spent the past two decades researching why people believe in conspiracy theories, and what effects those beliefs have. She has published widely on these topics and her work has been covered in media outlets including the BBC, The Guardian, and the New YorkTimes.
She is currently leading a European Research Council project (€2.5m) on the consequences of conspiracy theories.
Relevant publications
I try to understand the psychology behind conspiracy theories – why people believe them, and what happens when they do.
Here are 10 relevant papers:
Douglas, K.M., & Sutton, R.M. (2023). What are conspiracy theories? A definitional approach to their correlates, consequences, and communication. Annual Review of Psychology, 74, 271–298.https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-032420-031329
Douglas, K.M., & Sutton, R.M. (2025). The social psychology of conspiracy theories: Key insights and future challenges. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 71, 1–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2024.10.004
Biddlestone, M., Green, R., Douglas, K.M., Azevedo, F., Sutton, R.M., &Cichocka, A. (2025). Reasons to believe: A systematic review and meta-analytic synthesis of the motives associated with conspiracy beliefs.Psychological Bulletin, 151(1), 48–87. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000463
Hornsey, M.J., Bierwiaczonek, K., Sassenberg, K., & Douglas, K.M. (2023). Individual, intergroup and nation-level influences on belief in conspiracytheories. Nature Reviews Psychology, 2, 85–97. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-022-00133-0
Van Bavel, J.J., …, Douglas, K.M., … et al. (2020). Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response. Nature Human Behaviour, 4, 460–471. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0884-z
Douglas, K.M., & Sutton, R.M. (2018). Why conspiracy theories matter: A social psychological analysis. European Review of Social Psychology, 29, 256–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2018.1537428
Douglas, K.M., Uscinski, J., Sutton, R.M., Cichocka, A., Nefes, T., Ang, C.S., & Deravi, F. (2019). Understanding conspiracy theories. Advances in Political Psychology, 40(S1), 3–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12568
Douglas, K.M., Sutton, R.M., & Cichocka, A. (2017). The psychology of conspiracy theories. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26, 538–542. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417718261
Jolley, D., & Douglas, K.M. (2014). The social consequences of conspiracism: Exposure to conspiracy theories decreases intentions to engage in politics and to reduce one’s carbon footprint. British Journal of Psychology, 105, 35–56. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12018
Jolley, D., & Douglas, K.M. (2014). The effects of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories on vaccination intentions. PLOS ONE, 9(2), e89177. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0089177