• Login
    View Item 
    •   Scholarly Works @ SHSU Home
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   Scholarly Works @ SHSU Home
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Making Sense of the Nonsensical: A Nuanced Approach to Unwarranted Beliefs and their Holders

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    WAYMIRE-DISSERTATION-2020.pdf (955.9Kb)
    Date
    2019-07-08
    Author
    Waymire, Kevin
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    A strong argument can be made that we are living in a post-fact world, where misinformation and unwarranted claims litter the landscape of data readily available to the public—often resulting in tangible consequences (e.g., the mass reemergence of measles in the U.S. related to misinformation regarding the safety of vaccines). Accordingly, the current study aimed to assess the endorsement of epistemically unwarranted beliefs (EUBs)—or those displaying a failure to align with, and be logically nested under, the entirety of available fact-based knowledge (Lobato, Mendoza, Sims, & Chin, 2014)—via a novel statistical method. Specifically, the current study investigated three domains of EUBs (i.e., conspiratorial thinking, paranormal beliefs, and pseudoscience acceptance) via Latent Profile Analysis (LPA)—a statistical technique used to identify hidden groups within continuous data (Oberski, 2016). Further, a number of potential correlates of EUBs identified within the extant literature were entered into the statistical model as a means of identifying their specific associations among observed latent profiles. Results indicated clear differences between identified latent groups. Specifically, two distinct profiles emerged, one higher in conspiratorial, paranormal, and pseudoscientific beliefs, and the other lower. Group membership representing more robust EUB endorsement was significantly and positively associated with New Age spiritual beliefs, alternative spirituality, magical ideation, and extraversion. Additionally, said group membership was significantly and negatively associated with an orientation toward Christian specific beliefs and the personality trait domain of antagonism.
    URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11875/2671
    Collections
    • Electronic Theses and Dissertations

    DSpace software copyright © 2002-2016  DuraSpace
    Contact Us | Send Feedback
    TDL
    Theme by 
    Atmire NV
     

     

    Browse

    All of Scholarly Works @ SHSUCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsDepartmentThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsDepartment

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    DSpace software copyright © 2002-2016  DuraSpace
    Contact Us | Send Feedback
    TDL
    Theme by 
    Atmire NV