Specifically, Whitson, Galinsky and Kay [Whitson, J.A., Galinsky, A.D. and Kay, A. (2015) ‘The emotional roots of conspiratorial perceptions, system justification, and belief in the paranormal’, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 56, 89-95] manipulated people’s experience of emotions related to uncertainty about the world (e.g. worry, surprise and fear) vs. certainty (e.g. anger, happiness, disgust). They found that experiencing uncertain emotions increased belief in conspiracy theories compared to experiencing emotions associated with certainty. Finally, boredom proneness is associated with conspiracy belief, and boredom proneness has also been found to be associated with emotional distance from others, as well as depression, anxiety, hopelessness and aggression [Brotherton, R. and Eser, S. (2015) ‘Bored to fears: boredom proneness, paranoia, and conspiracy theories’, Personality and Individual Differences, 80: 1-5].
– ‘Motivations, emotions and belief in conspiracy theories’, in Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories (2020), pp. 185-6
To take epistemic motives first, there is some evidence to suggest that conspiracy theories frustrate rather than satisfy the need for knowledge and certainty. Specifically, Jolley and Douglas [Jolley, D. and Douglas, K.M. (2014) ‘The effects of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories on vaccination intentions’, PLOS ONE, 9(2): e89177] presented people with persuasive conspiracy arguments about climate change and politics (vs. anti – conspiracy arguments or controls) and found that this material made people feel less (not more) certain about these issues. In another study, Jolley and Douglas [Jolley, D. and Douglas, K.M. (2014) ‘The social consequences of conspiracism: exposure to conspiracy theories decreases the intention to engage in politics and to reduce one’s carbon footprint’, British Journal of Psychology, 105(1): 35-56] found a similar reduction in certainty after exposure to conspiracy theories about vaccination. Therefore, rather than satisfying people’s epistemic need for knowledge and certainty, conspiracy theories might even worsen the situation. On the other hand, entrenched attitude positions are associated with conspiracy beliefs, suggesting that they may help people defend beliefs that are important to them from disconfirmation […].
– Ibid., p. 186