Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T14:00:36.622Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

We believe in your conspiracy if we distrust you: the role of intergroup distrust in structuring the effect of Islamic identification, competitive victimhood, and group incompatibility on belief in a conspiracy theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 December 2014

Ali Mashuri  and
Esti Zaduqisti
Ali Mashuri*
Affiliation:
University of Brawijaya and VU University Amsterdam
Esti Zaduqisti
Affiliation:
STAIN Pekalongan
*
address for correspondence: Ali Mashuri, Department of Psychology, University of Brawijaya, Jl. Veteran, Malang, 65145, Indonesia. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study examined how distrust towards an out-group believed to be an actor of a conspiracy theory moderates the role of Islamic identification, group incompatibility and competitive victimhood in explaining belief in said conspiracy. The contextual background we used to verify this idea is the belief in a conspiracy theory among Indonesian Muslims about the involvement of Western countries behind terrorism in Indonesia. More precisely, we found only among Muslim participants with high distrust towards Western people that Islamic identification and group incompatibility positively predicted the perception that Muslims, more than other religious groups, are the victim of the Western people and the belief in a theory that these people have conspired to create terrorism in Indonesia. We also hypothesized and found that competitive victimhood significantly mediated the effects of Islamic identification and group incompatibility on the belief in a conspiracy theory. However, in line with the prediction, these mediation roles of victimhood were obtained only among participants with high distrust. We discussed these findings with reference to theoretical and practical implications.

Keywords

Islamic identificationgroup incompatibilitycompetitive victimhoodbelief in a conspiracy theoryintergroup distrustterrorism in Indonesia
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Tropical Psychology , Volume 4 , 2014 , e11
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abalakina-Paap, M., Stephan, W. G., Craig, T., & Gregory, W. L. (1999). Beliefs in conspiracies. Political Psychology, 20 (3), 637–647.Google Scholar
Acevedo, G. A. (2008). Islamic fatalism and the clash of civilizations: An appraisal of a contentious and dubious theory. Social Forces, 86 (4), 1711–1752.Google Scholar
Akbarzadeh, S. (2006). General introduction. In Akbarzadeh, S. (Ed.), Islam and globalization: Critical concepts in Islamic studies (pp. 1–14). London : Routledge.Google Scholar
Andrighetto, L., Mari, S., Volpato, C., & Behluli, B. (2012). Reducing competitive victimhood in Kosovo: The role of extended contact and common ingroup identity. Political Psychology, 33 (4), 513–529.Google Scholar
Ashmore, R. D., Jussim, L. J., & Wilder, D. (2001). Social identity, intergroup conflict, and conflict reduction. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Bar-Tal, D., Chernyak-Hai, L., Schori, N., & Gundar, A. (2009). A sense of self-perceived collective victimhood in intractable conflicts. International Review of the Red Cross, 91 (874), 229–258.Google Scholar
Bergmann, W. (2008). Anti-semitic attitudes in Europe: A comparative perspective. Journal of Social Issues, 64 (2), 343–362.Google Scholar
Bilewicz, M., & Krzeminski, I. (2010). Anti-semitism in Poland and Ukraine: The belief in Jewish control as a mechanism of scapegoating. International Journal of Conflict and Violence, 4 (2), 234–243.Google Scholar
Bilewicz, M., Winiewski, M., Kofta, M., & Wójcik, A. (2013). Harmful ideas: The structure and consequences of anti-semitic beliefs in Poland. Political Psychology, 34 (6), 821–839.Google Scholar
Branscombe, N. R., Ellemers, N., Spears, R., & Doosje, B. (1999). The context and content of social identity threat. In Ellemers, N., Spears, R., & Doosje, B. (Eds.), Social identity: Context, commitment, content (pp. 35–58). Oxford, England: Blackwell Science.Google Scholar
Brown, R. (2000). Social identity theory: Past achievements, current problems and future challenges. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30 (6), 745–778.Google Scholar
Brown, T. A. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Burhanuddin, A. (2007). The conspiracy of Jews: the quest for anti-semitism in media dakwah. Graduate Journal of Asia Pacific Studies, 5, 53–76.Google Scholar
Cochrane, J. (2013, May 14). Indonesian police kill suspect in attempted bomb attack. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/world/asia/indonesian-police-kill-suspect-in-attempted-bomb-attack.htmlGoogle Scholar
Crocker, J., Luhtanen, R., Broadnax, S., & Blaine, B. E. (1999). Belief in U.S. government conspiracies against blacks among black and white college students: Powerlessness or system blame? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25 (8), 941–953.Google Scholar
Darby, B. W., & Schlenker, B. R. (1989). Children's reactions to transgressions: Effects of the actor's apology, reputation and remorse. British Journal of Social Psychology, 28 (4), 353–364.Google Scholar
De Zavala, A. G., Cichocka, A., Eidelson, R., & Jayawickreme, N. (2009). Collective narcissism and its social consequences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97 (6), 1074–1096.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eidelson, R. J., & Eidelson, J. I. (2003). Dangerous ideas: Five beliefs that propel groups toward conflict. American Psychologist, 58 (3), 182–192.Google Scholar
Ellemers, N., Spears, R., & Doosje, B. (2002). Self and social identity. Annual Review of Psychology, 53 (1), 161–186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fealy, G. (2003). Hating Americans: Jemaah Islamiyah and the Bali bombings. Inside Indonesia, 74, 6–8.Google Scholar
Geertz, C. (1976). The religion of Java. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Goertzel, T. (1994). Belief in a conspiracy theory. Political Psychology, 15 (4), 731–742.Google Scholar
Hadler, J. (2004). Translations of antisemitism: Jews, the Chinese, and violence in colonial and post-colonial Indonesia. Indonesia and the Malay World, 32 (94), 291–313.Google Scholar
Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Hayes, A. F., & Matthes, J. (2009). Computational procedures for probing interactions in OLS and logistic regression: SPSS and SAS implementations. Behavior Research Methods, 41 (3), 924–936.Google Scholar
Howell, J. D. (2001). Sufism and the Indonesian Islamic revival. The Journal of Asian Studies, 60 (03), 701–729.Google Scholar
Hunsberger, B., & Jackson, L. M. (2005). Religion, meaning, and prejudice. Journal of Social Issues, 61 (4), 807–826.Google Scholar
Imhoff, R., & Bruder, M. (2014). Speaking (un-)truth to power: Conspiracy mentality as a generalised political attitude. European Journal of Personality, 28 (1), 25–43.Google Scholar
Jikeli, G. (2012). Discrimination of European Moslems: Self-perceptions, experiences and discourses of victimhood. In: Soen, D., Shechory, M. & David, S. B. (Eds.), Minority groups: Coercion, discrimination, exclusion, deviance and the quest for equality (pp. 77–96). Hauppauge, N.Y.: Nova Science Pub Inc.Google Scholar
Jones, S. (2009). The Political impact of the war on terror in Indonesia (Working Paper No. 116). Retrieved from Asia Research Centre website: http://dspace.cigilibrary.org/jspui/handle/123456789/13091Google Scholar
Karmini, N. (2012, October 08). Decade after Bali, Indonesian terror aims at govt. Retrieved December 22, 2013, from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/10/08/decade-after-bali-indonesian-terror-aims-govt.htmlGoogle Scholar
Kelloway, E. K. (1998). Using lisrel for structural equation modeling: A researcher's guide. Thousand Oaks, California, USA: SAGE Publications Inc.Google Scholar
Kipp, R. S. (2004). Indonesia in 2003-Terror's aftermath. Asian Survey, 44 (1), 62–69.Google Scholar
Kofta, M. (1995). Stereotype of a group as-a-whole: The role of diabolic causation schema. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 26 (2), 83–96.Google Scholar
Kofta, M., & Sedek, G. (2005). Conspiracy stereotypes of Jews during systemic transformation in Poland. International Journal of Sociology, 35 (1), 40–64.Google Scholar
Kofta, M., Sedek, G., & Slawuta, P. N. (2011). Beliefs in Jewish conspiracy: The role of situation threats to ingroup’ power and positive image. Paper presented at the 34th International Society of Political Psychology (ISSP) conference, Istanbul, Turkey.Google Scholar
Kramer, R. M. (1994). The sinister attribution error: Paranoid cognition and collective distrust in organizations. Motivation and Emotion, 18 (2), 199–230.Google Scholar
Kramer, R. M. (1998a). Paranoid cognition in social systems: Thinking and acting in the shadow of doubt. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2 (4), 251–275.Google Scholar
LeVine, R. A., & Campbell, D. T. (1972). Ethnocentrism: Theories of conflict, ethnic attitudes and group behavior. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Lim, M. (2005). Islamic radicalism and anti-Americanism in Indonesia: The role of the internet. Policy Studies Series #18. Washington DC: East West Center.Google Scholar
Mashuri, A., & Zaduqisti, E. (2014). The role of social identification, intergroup threat, and out-group derogation in explaining belief in a conspiracy theory about terrorism in Indonesia. International Journal of Research Studies in Psychology, 3 (35–50).Google Scholar
Mazrui, A. A. (2006). Globalization and cross-cultural values: The politics of identity and judgment. In Akbarzadeh, S. (Ed.), Islam and globalization: Critical concepts in Islamic studies (pp. 242–254). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Mendelson, M. (2008). A systems understanding of terrorism with implications for policy. (Electronic Thesis or Dissertation). Retrieved from https://etd.ohiolink.edu/Google Scholar
Miller, S. (2002). A conspiracy theory, Public arguments as coded social critiques: A rhetorical analysis of the TWA Flight 800 a conspiracy theory. Argumentation and Advocacy, 39, 40–56.Google Scholar
Moghaddam, F. M. (2006). From the terrorists’ point of view: What they experience and why they come to destroy. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International.Google Scholar
Nadler, A., & Liviatan, I. (2006). Intergroup reconciliation: Effects of adversary's expressions of empathy, responsibility, and recipients’ trust. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32 (4), 459–470.Google Scholar
Nadler, A., & Saguy, T. (2003). Reconciliation between nations: Overcoming emotional deterents to ending conflicts between groups. In Langholtz, H. & Stout, C. E. (Eds.), The psychology of diplomacy (pp. 29–46). Connecticut: Praeger Publishers.Google Scholar
Nadler, A., & Saguy, T. (2004). Trust building and reconciliation between adversarial groups: A social psychological perspective. The Psychology of Diplomacy, 29–46.Google Scholar
Nadler, A, & Shnabel, N. (2008) Instrumental and socioemotional paths to intergroup reconciliation and the needs-based model of socioemotional reconciliation. In Nadler, A., Malloy, T. E., & Fisher, J. D. (Eds.). The social psychology of intergroup reconciliation (pp. 37–56). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Noor, M., Brown, R., Gonzalez, R., Manzi, J., & Lewis, C. A. (2008). On positive psychological outcomes: What helps groups with a history of conflict to forgive and reconcile with each other? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34 (6), 819–832.Google Scholar
Nurullah, A. S. (2008). Globalisation as a challenge to Islamic cultural identity (SSRN Scholarly Paper No. ID 1482387). Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network. Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=1482387Google Scholar
Parlina, I. (2013, May 05). Terror threat remains alive, Yudhoyono says. Retrieved December 22, 2013, from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/05/05/terror-threat-remains-alive-yudhoyono-says.htmlGoogle Scholar
Parsons, S., Simmons, W., Shinhoster, F., & Kilburn, J. (1999). A test of the grapevine: An empirical examination of a conspiracy theory among African Americans. Sociological Spectrum, 19 (2), 201–222.Google Scholar
Perdani, Y. (2013, November 14). Embassy bomb plotter could face death penalty. Retrieved December 22, 2013, from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/11/14/embassy-bomb-plotter-could-face-death-penalty.htmlGoogle Scholar
Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2008). How does intergroup contact reduce prejudice? Meta-analytic tests of three mediators. European Journal of Social Psychology, 38 (6), 922–934.Google Scholar
Räikkä, J. (2008). On political a conspiracy theory. Journal of Political Philosophy, 17, 185–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36 (4), 717–731.Google Scholar
Reid, A. (2010). Jewish-a conspiracy theory in Southeast Asia. Indonesia and the Malay World, 38 (112), 373–385.Google Scholar
Rothbart, M., & Hallmark, W. (1988). In-group-out-group differences in the perceived efficacy of coercion and conciliation in resolving social conflict. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55 (2), 248–257.Google Scholar
Sapountzis, A., & Condor, S. (2013). Conspiracy accounts as intergroup theories: Challenging dominant understandings of social power and political legitimacy. Political Psychology, 34 (5), 731–752.Google Scholar
Sentana, M., & Hariyanto, J. (2013, January 5). Indonesia police kill five alleged terrorists. The Jakarta Post. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323374504578223290283017294.htmlGoogle Scholar
Shnabel, N., & Nadler, A. (2008). A needs-based model of reconciliation: Satisfying the differential emotional needs of victim and perpetrator as a key to promoting reconciliation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94 (1), 116–132.Google Scholar
Shnabel, N., Nadler, A., Ullrich, J., Dovidio, J. F., & Carmi, D. (2009). Promoting reconciliation through the satisfaction of the emotional needs of victimized and perpetrating group members: The needs-based model of reconciliation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35 (8), 1021–1030.Google Scholar
Shnabel, N., & Noor, M. (2012). Competitive victimhood among Jewish and Palestinian Israelis reflects differential threats to their identities: The perspective of the Needs-Based Model. In Jonas, K. J., & Morton, T. (Eds.), Restoring civil societies: The psychology of intervention and engagement following crisis (pp. 192–207). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Siegel, J. T. (2000). Kiblat and the mediatic Jew. Indonesia, 69, 9–40.Google Scholar
Silberman, I. (2005). Religion as a meaning system: Implications for the new millennium. Journal of Social Issues, 61 (4), 641–663.Google Scholar
Sindic, D., & Reicher, S. D. (1999). Our way of life is worth defending: Testing a model of attitudes towards superordinate group membership through a study of Scots’ attitudes towards Britain. European Journal of Social Psychology, 39 (1), 114–129.Google Scholar
Smith, A. L. (2005). The Politics of negotiating the terrorist problem in Indonesia. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 28 (1), 33–44.Google Scholar
Stone, L. (2006). Minarets and plastic bags: The social and global relations of Orhan Pamuk. Turkish Studies, 7 (2), 191–201.Google Scholar
Suciu, E. M. (2008). Signs of anti-semitism in Indonesia. Degree thesis, Department of Asian Studies, The University of Sydney, Sydney.Google Scholar
Sullivan, D., Landau, M. J., Branscombe, N. R., & Rothschild, Z. K. (2012). Competitive victimhood as a response to accusations of ingroup harm doing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102 (4), 778–795.Google Scholar
Suwarno, P. (2013). Depiction of common enemies in religious speech: The role of the rhetoric of identification and purification in Indonesian religious conflicts. Walisongo, 21 (1), 1–18.Google Scholar
Swami, V. (2012). Social psychological origins of a conspiracy theory: The case of the Jewish a conspiracy theory in Malaysia. Frontiers in personality science and individual differences, 3, 1–9.Google Scholar
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of inter-group behavior. In Worchel, S. and Austin, L. W. (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations. Chicago: Nelson-Hall.Google Scholar
Tam, T., Hewstone, M., Kenworthy, J., & Cairns, E. (2009). Intergroup trust in Northern Ireland. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35 (1), 45–59.Google Scholar
Turner, J. C., & Reynolds, K. H. (2001). The Social identity perspective in intergroup relations: Theories, themes, and controversies. In Brown, R. & Gaertner, S. L. (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Intergroup processes (pp. 133–152). Malden, MA: Blackwell.Google Scholar
van Bruinessen, M. (2003). Post-Suharto Moslems engagements with civil society and democracy. Paper presented at the Third International Conference and Workshop Indonesia in Transition, organised by the KNAW and Labsosio, Universitas Indonesia, August 24–28. Universitas Indonesia, Depok.Google Scholar
van Prooijen, J. W. (2012). Suspicions of injustice: The sense-making function of belief in conspiracy theory. In: Kals, E. and Maes, J. (Eds.), Justice and conflict: Theoretical and empirical contributions (pp. 121–132). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
van Prooijen, J. W., & Jostmann, N. B. (2013). Belief in a conspiracy theory: The influence of uncertainty and perceived morality. European Journal of Social Psychology, 43 (1), 109–115.Google Scholar
Verkuyten, M. (2007). Religious Group Identification and inter-religious relations: A study among Turkish-Dutch Moslems. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 10 (3), 341–357. doi:10.1177/1368430207078695Google Scholar
Verkuyten, M., & Yildiz, A. A. (2009). Moslems immigrants and religious group feelings: self-identification and attitudes among Sunni and Alevi Turkish-Dutch. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 32 (7), 1121–1142.Google Scholar
Verkuyten, M., & Yildiz, A. A. (2010). Religious identity consolidation and mobilization among Turkish Dutch Moslems. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40 (3), 436–447.Google Scholar
Vertigans, S., & Sutton, P. W. (2002). Globalisation theory and Islamic praxis. Global Society, 16 (1), 31–46.Google Scholar
Waters, M. (2001). Globalization. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar