Myrto Pantazi
Biographic Data
| ID | 1901745 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Myrto Pantazi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Myrto |
| FAMILY NAME | Pantazi |
| SIGNATURE | PANTAZI M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Oxford |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8347-3115 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 183 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 15 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Public Communication about Science in 68 Countries
This 68-country survey ( n = 71,922) examines science information diets and communication behavior, identifies cross-country differences, and tests how such differences are associated with sociopolitical and economic conditions. We find that social media are the most used sources of science information in most countries, except those with democratic-corporatist media systems where news media tend to be used more widely. People in collectivist soc…
The ‘sour grapes’ of conspiracy theories
Dissatisfied democrats, but democrats nonetheless?” Unraveling the democratic paradox between populism and preference for alternative political systems
Populism presents a democratic paradox, portrayed both as a democratic threat and a fundamental tenet of democracy. We investigate the paradoxical relationship between populism and pro‐ and anti‐democratic attitudes, focusing on the role of status quo rejection, feelings of powerlessness, and social justice support. Study 1 ( United Kingdom, N = 293 ) and Study ( United Kingdom, N = 350, pre‐registered ) show that populist attitudes are associate…
Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries
Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most p…
The Achilles’ heel of the truth bias? High personal stakes reduce vulnerability to false information
While, by default, people tend to believe communicated content, it is also possible that they become more vigilant when personal stakes increase. A lab ( N = 72) and an online ( N = 284) experiment show that people make judgements affected by explicitly tagged false information and that they misremember such information as true – a phenomenon dubbed the ‘truth bias’. However, both experiments show that this bias is significantly reduced when pers…
Is democracy under threat? Why belief in conspiracy theories predicts autocratic attitudes
Scholars and policy‐makers are increasingly concerned with the detrimental effects of conspiracy theories. Yet, it remains unclear whether conspiracy beliefs actually pose a threat to democracy by rendering people less supportive of democratic governance. Three studies suggest that conspiracy theories may incite support for autocratic regimes. A first nationally representative sample ( Greece , N = 492), established a link between conspiracy beli…
Unravelling the relationship between populism and belief in conspiracy theories
In recent years, it has been argued that conspiracy beliefs and populist attitudes go hand in hand. Despite their theoretical and empirical similarities, it remains unclear why these constructs are so closely associated. Across three studies, we examined the processes underlying the relationship between belief in conspiracy theories and populist attitudes. Study 1 (Greece, N = 275) and Study 2 (United Kingdom, N = 300) revealed that the relations…
Power to the People
Although an increasing volume of research has identified several negative sociopolitical attitudes as correlates of conspiracy theories, to date it remains unclear whether belief in conspiracy theories is necessarily in conflict with support for democratic governance. In this contribution, we integrate previous findings suggesting inconsistent relationships between belief in conspiracy theories and support for democratic governance. Study 1 (N = …
Author Correction
Conspiracy mentality and political orientation across 26 countries
Investigating the Links Between Cultural Values and Belief in Conspiracy Theories
Research suggests that belief in conspiracy theories (CT) stems from basic psychological mechanisms and is linked to other belief systems (e.g., religious beliefs). While previous research has extensively examined individual and contextual variables associated with CT beliefs, it has not yet investigated the role of culture. In the current research, we tested, based on a situated cultural cognition perspective, the extent to which culture predict…
Social and Cognitive Aspects of the Vulnerability to Political Misinformation
In the last few years, especially after the Brexit referendum and the 2016 U.S. elections, there has been a surge in academic interest for misinformation and disinformation. Social, cognitive, and political scientists' work on these phenomena has focused on two main aspects:Individuals' (and by extension societies') vulnerability to misinformation;Factors and interventions that can increase individuals' (and societies') resistance to misinformati…
A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the Covid-19 pandemic
Historia est magistra vitae ”? The impact of historical victimhood on current conspiracy beliefs
Conspiracy beliefs constitute a propensity to attribute major events to powerful agents acting against less powerful “victims”. In this article we test whether collective victimhood facilitates conspiracy thinking. Study 1 showed that perceived group victimhood is associated with generic and group-specific conspiracy beliefs, but only for individuals who identify highly with their ingroup. Study 2 employed an experimental design to show that expe…
Stigmatized beliefs
Can conspiracy theories be a source of social stigma? If it is true, it would follow that people may expect to be socially excluded when they express endorsement of conspiracy theories. This effect should be partially explained by the knowledge of the negative perceptions associated with conspiracy theories. In Study 1, inducing French internet users to write a text endorsing (vs. criticizing) conspiracy theories about the Charlie Hebdo shooting,…
Conspiracy mentality and political orientation across 26 countries
Power to the People
Although an increasing volume of research has identified several negative sociopolitical attitudes as correlates of conspiracy theories, to date it remains unclear whether belief in conspiracy theories is necessarily in conflict with support for democratic governance. In this contribution, we integrate previous findings suggesting inconsistent relationships between belief in conspiracy theories and support for democratic governance. Study 1 (N = …
Investigating the Links Between Cultural Values and Belief in Conspiracy Theories
Research suggests that belief in conspiracy theories (CT) stems from basic psychological mechanisms and is linked to other belief systems (e.g., religious beliefs). While previous research has extensively examined individual and contextual variables associated with CT beliefs, it has not yet investigated the role of culture. In the current research, we tested, based on a situated cultural cognition perspective, the extent to which culture predict…
Stigmatized beliefs
Can conspiracy theories be a source of social stigma? If it is true, it would follow that people may expect to be socially excluded when they express endorsement of conspiracy theories. This effect should be partially explained by the knowledge of the negative perceptions associated with conspiracy theories. In Study 1, inducing French internet users to write a text endorsing (vs. criticizing) conspiracy theories about the Charlie Hebdo shooting,…
Is democracy under threat? Why belief in conspiracy theories predicts autocratic attitudes
Scholars and policy‐makers are increasingly concerned with the detrimental effects of conspiracy theories. Yet, it remains unclear whether conspiracy beliefs actually pose a threat to democracy by rendering people less supportive of democratic governance. Three studies suggest that conspiracy theories may incite support for autocratic regimes. A first nationally representative sample ( Greece , N = 492), established a link between conspiracy beli…
Unravelling the relationship between populism and belief in conspiracy theories
In recent years, it has been argued that conspiracy beliefs and populist attitudes go hand in hand. Despite their theoretical and empirical similarities, it remains unclear why these constructs are so closely associated. Across three studies, we examined the processes underlying the relationship between belief in conspiracy theories and populist attitudes. Study 1 (Greece, N = 275) and Study 2 (United Kingdom, N = 300) revealed that the relations…
Historia est magistra vitae ”? The impact of historical victimhood on current conspiracy beliefs
Conspiracy beliefs constitute a propensity to attribute major events to powerful agents acting against less powerful “victims”. In this article we test whether collective victimhood facilitates conspiracy thinking. Study 1 showed that perceived group victimhood is associated with generic and group-specific conspiracy beliefs, but only for individuals who identify highly with their ingroup. Study 2 employed an experimental design to show that expe…
Social and Cognitive Aspects of the Vulnerability to Political Misinformation
In the last few years, especially after the Brexit referendum and the 2016 U.S. elections, there has been a surge in academic interest for misinformation and disinformation. Social, cognitive, and political scientists' work on these phenomena has focused on two main aspects:Individuals' (and by extension societies') vulnerability to misinformation;Factors and interventions that can increase individuals' (and societies') resistance to misinformati…
Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries
Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most p…
A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the Covid-19 pandemic
Stigmatized beliefs
Can conspiracy theories be a source of social stigma? If it is true, it would follow that people may expect to be socially excluded when they express endorsement of conspiracy theories. This effect should be partially explained by the knowledge of the negative perceptions associated with conspiracy theories. In Study 1, inducing French internet users to write a text endorsing (vs. criticizing) conspiracy theories about the Charlie Hebdo shooting,…
Historia est magistra vitae ”? The impact of historical victimhood on current conspiracy beliefs
Conspiracy beliefs constitute a propensity to attribute major events to powerful agents acting against less powerful “victims”. In this article we test whether collective victimhood facilitates conspiracy thinking. Study 1 showed that perceived group victimhood is associated with generic and group-specific conspiracy beliefs, but only for individuals who identify highly with their ingroup. Study 2 employed an experimental design to show that expe…
Investigating the Links Between Cultural Values and Belief in Conspiracy Theories
Research suggests that belief in conspiracy theories (CT) stems from basic psychological mechanisms and is linked to other belief systems (e.g., religious beliefs). While previous research has extensively examined individual and contextual variables associated with CT beliefs, it has not yet investigated the role of culture. In the current research, we tested, based on a situated cultural cognition perspective, the extent to which culture predict…
Social and Cognitive Aspects of the Vulnerability to Political Misinformation
In the last few years, especially after the Brexit referendum and the 2016 U.S. elections, there has been a surge in academic interest for misinformation and disinformation. Social, cognitive, and political scientists' work on these phenomena has focused on two main aspects:Individuals' (and by extension societies') vulnerability to misinformation;Factors and interventions that can increase individuals' (and societies') resistance to misinformati…
A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the Covid-19 pandemic
Power to the People
Although an increasing volume of research has identified several negative sociopolitical attitudes as correlates of conspiracy theories, to date it remains unclear whether belief in conspiracy theories is necessarily in conflict with support for democratic governance. In this contribution, we integrate previous findings suggesting inconsistent relationships between belief in conspiracy theories and support for democratic governance. Study 1 (N = …
Author Correction
Conspiracy mentality and political orientation across 26 countries
Is democracy under threat? Why belief in conspiracy theories predicts autocratic attitudes
Scholars and policy‐makers are increasingly concerned with the detrimental effects of conspiracy theories. Yet, it remains unclear whether conspiracy beliefs actually pose a threat to democracy by rendering people less supportive of democratic governance. Three studies suggest that conspiracy theories may incite support for autocratic regimes. A first nationally representative sample ( Greece , N = 492), established a link between conspiracy beli…
Unravelling the relationship between populism and belief in conspiracy theories
In recent years, it has been argued that conspiracy beliefs and populist attitudes go hand in hand. Despite their theoretical and empirical similarities, it remains unclear why these constructs are so closely associated. Across three studies, we examined the processes underlying the relationship between belief in conspiracy theories and populist attitudes. Study 1 (Greece, N = 275) and Study 2 (United Kingdom, N = 300) revealed that the relations…
The Achilles’ heel of the truth bias? High personal stakes reduce vulnerability to false information
While, by default, people tend to believe communicated content, it is also possible that they become more vigilant when personal stakes increase. A lab ( N = 72) and an online ( N = 284) experiment show that people make judgements affected by explicitly tagged false information and that they misremember such information as true – a phenomenon dubbed the ‘truth bias’. However, both experiments show that this bias is significantly reduced when pers…
Public Communication about Science in 68 Countries
This 68-country survey ( n = 71,922) examines science information diets and communication behavior, identifies cross-country differences, and tests how such differences are associated with sociopolitical and economic conditions. We find that social media are the most used sources of science information in most countries, except those with democratic-corporatist media systems where news media tend to be used more widely. People in collectivist soc…
The ‘sour grapes’ of conspiracy theories
Dissatisfied democrats, but democrats nonetheless?” Unraveling the democratic paradox between populism and preference for alternative political systems
Populism presents a democratic paradox, portrayed both as a democratic threat and a fundamental tenet of democracy. We investigate the paradoxical relationship between populism and pro‐ and anti‐democratic attitudes, focusing on the role of status quo rejection, feelings of powerlessness, and social justice support. Study 1 ( United Kingdom, N = 293 ) and Study ( United Kingdom, N = 350, pre‐registered ) show that populist attitudes are associate…
Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries
Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most p…
Misinformation and Its Impacts (12 works) · Psychology (12 works) · Social Psychology (10 works) · Political science (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Politics (7 works) · Social Media and Politics (7 works) · Social Psychology (5 works) · Economics (4 works) · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection (4 works)