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In the wake of #USElections2020, there is much discussion between my friends and I about the hows and why of support for Trump. Of course, this is a complex issue... but I find this research quite insightful 1/ https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.568942/full
Employing thinking styles and a "fish task" (to assess if one "jumps to conclusions"), the authors reveal strong correspondence between belief in conspiracy theories and preference for an intuitive thinking style AND propensity ot make faster decisions 2/ https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.568942/full
Also interesting is how a bias to "jump to conclusions" (i.e. make decisions based on limited information) may contradict individual self-perceptions, e.g. if they see themselves as "researchers" searching for the truth (or to use German, Querdenken) 3/ https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.568942/full
In sum, alongside discussion of contextual drivers such as greater uncertainty and immiseration (e.g. due to #COVID19 and recession), this study seems to highlight some interesting psychometric factors: i.e. reliance on intuitive thinking and tendency to jump to conclusions 4/4
