mat marques, ph.d.
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mdmarques.com
mat marques, ph.d.
@mdmarques.com
2.5K followers 440 following 500 posts
bicycles, coffee, and social psychology.
researches the causes and consequences of #conspiracytheories
he/him. woiworung land.
https://mdmarques.com
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mdmarques.com
mat marques, ph.d. @mdmarques.com · Dec 4
The effect of scientific conspiracy theories on scepticism towards biotechnologies

excited to see this #conspiracytheories paper out w/ collaborators @scicomguy.bsky.social, Art Stukas, & Jim McLennan

Will write a 🧵 soon but for now here's the #openaccess link

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Abstract Many conspiracy theories implicate scientists and science. We investigated the impact of exposure to scientific conspiracies about biotechnologies. Across three preregistered online studies (Ns = 1,000), participants who read information about conspiracies involving agribiotechnology companies or biobank scientists were more likely to endorse conspiracies. Other effects of exposure to conspiracy information were mixed. In Study 1, reading about an agricultural biotechnology conspiracy had a small significant effect on reducing intentions to eat genetically modified food. In Study 2, exposure to a conspiracy involving biobank scientists decreased support for biobanks, mediated by decreased trust in biobank scientists. In Study 3, this conspiracy had no effect on wider beliefs of the role of science in society (science populism), nor support of genetically modified food-promoting policies. Overall, we found that exposure to conspiracies involving scientific claims increased conspiracy belief endorsement and can further negative effects. However, the effects of conspiracies on science populism appear limited.
mdmarques.com
thankful to have friends who also enjoy the joys of riding in the hills
two cyclists side by side heading up a windey road climb surrounded by lush forest greenery
December 28, 2025 at 8:49 AM
mdmarques.com
post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't nirvana, pearl jam, soundgarden, or alice in chains
Jeff Buckley Grace cover
December 28, 2025 at 3:14 AM
mdmarques.com
wood fired pizza prep for family tonight
Bench with pizza ingredients. Vaseline with tomato, condiments and a few pizza balls ready to roll out
December 27, 2025 at 5:29 AM
mdmarques.com
Testing the socio-functional model: Does precarity
cause conspiracy belief?
TLDR; probably not
huge thx: Antipodean Misinformation and Conspiracies Club @matthewmatix.bsky.social @lingtax.bsky.social @scicomguy.bsky.social @srhastraea.bsky.social @eddieclarke.bsky.social & students osf.io/nq3y7/
Abstract Research seeking to explain why people believe conspira- cies has largely focused on intrapsychic factors, but there is growing research examining structural-level elements of dis- advantage. The socio-functional model of conspiracy belief (Adam-Troian et al., 2023, British Journal of Social Psycholog y, 62, 136) posits that subjective feelings of permanent inse- curity arising from objective material strain (i.e., precarity) cause conspiracy belief directly or indirectly through insti- tutional distrust. Across three preregistered studies using observational longitudinal designs over 3 (n = 637) and 11 months (n = 832), and a between-group experimental de- sign (n = 285), we use various methods to estimate causal ef- fects for this proposition during the current cost-of-living crisis. In Studies 1 and 2 using random intercept cross- lagged panel models, we find no evidence that increases in precarity temporally precede increases in conspiracy belief (or vice versa) but find stable between-persons effects over time. In Study 3, despite successfully manipulating precarity using a self-imagine paradigm, we find no direct or indirect effect on conspiracy belief through decreased government trust. We discuss the importance of using methods that per- mit credible causal inferences and key directions for future studies investigating the socio-functional model.
December 27, 2025 at 4:12 AM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
katestarbird.bsky.social
Nina Jankowicz: “They’re not doing this because they have any evidence of censorship — they lost a Supreme Court case that made those claims… They’re doing this because the group of researchers and advocates have stood up to liars like Donald Trump and the platforms that enable them.”
December 24, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
niedermeyer.online
my festive spirit amidst our grimly stupid reality (2025)
a red original Mini Cooper parked between two Tesla Cybertrucks
December 23, 2025 at 9:34 PM
mdmarques.com
Belief in science-related conspiracy theories is not just a matter of knowledge: The democratic quality of countries as a protective factor
@irelopeznavarro.bsky.social & Santos-Requej

journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Abstract Concerns regarding the increasing prevalence of conspiracy theory beliefs are growing in public discourse. This study investigates science-related conspiracy theories due to their significant potential impact on individual and global health. Using data from a Special Eurobarometer survey (n = 37,079), our research demonstrates the importance of considering public perceptions of science when trying to understand the acceptance of such conspiracy theory beliefs. They are strongly associated with mistrust in scientists and lower level of knowledge. But there is a key factor at the country level, the quality of democracy, which plays a protective role against the acceptance of unwarranted beliefs. Even individuals with lower levels of knowledge or greater mistrust of scientists are less likely to believe in science-related conspiracy theories if they live in democratic countries than in authoritarian states.
December 22, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
jayvanbavel.bsky.social
There are always people trying to argue that misinformation doesn’t matter.

But every time I read the news there is some horrific story or policy grounded in false beliefs that have been circulating online.
socialmedialab.ca Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 8d
"Death is the policy.
Under RFK Jr., ‘Make America Healthy Again’ means junk science like ‘survival of the fittest.’"
www.theverge.com/health/66136...
Death is the policy
RFK Jr.‘s measles response is junk science and social Darwinism.
www.theverge.com
December 21, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
elizabethjacobs.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
U.S. plans to stop recommending most childhood vaccines, defer to doctors
The plan, which is not finalized, suggests children get fewer shots and shifts to a model telling parents to consult doctors to make their own vaccine choices.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 20, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
emitanaka.org
Have you got a PhD in Statistics (or related field) and experience in Statistical Consulting? A continuing position at the Australian National University is now open 🇦🇺🦘🐨.

Would love to get an #rstats person if possible ☺️

Apply by 18 Jan 👉 jobs.anu.edu.au/jobs/course-... #statssky #statsky
Course Coordinator - Canberra / ACT, ACT, Australia
Classification: Academic Level BSalary package: $121,598 – 137,870 per annum plus 17% superannuation Terms: Full-time, Continuing (flexible arrangements, job share, or part time hours will be consider...
jobs.anu.edu.au
December 19, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
julieleask.bsky.social
There’s more to mealses than misinformation. www.healthbeat.org/2025/12/18/g...
There’s more to the measles comeback than misinformation
Global Health Checkup: What's really driving measles, Kenya pauses aid deal, airplane pollution onboard
www.healthbeat.org
December 19, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
jokeb0i.bsky.social
if tumblr dies I need this video to make it's seasonal rotation here instead just in case, Happy holidays 🎄
December 18, 2025 at 2:05 AM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
arstechnica.com
Physicists 3D-printed a Christmas tree of ice
New method uses no freezing technology or refrigeration equipment—just water and a vacuum.
arstechnica.com
December 17, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
victorsojo.bsky.social
Racist and xenophobic politicians trying to score points over a terrorist attack are not serving Australians. They are incompetent and have no real policy solutions to any of the problems regular Australians are facing. Therefore, they have defaulted to appealing to our worst instincts to get votes.
December 17, 2025 at 8:34 PM
mdmarques.com
good morning. I think our dog is broken.
A black Labrador named Bowie on a run on his back with legs in the air relaxing
December 17, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
kenzonera.bsky.social
This was not an easy one to write, but here it is!

🎈🤡 Freshly published in Collabra: Psychology: the life and death of one of the coolest findings in my PhD dissertation. 🎈🤡

With the usual – and wonderful – Karen M. Douglas, @paulbertin.bsky.social, and @olivierklein.bsky.social.

1/11
December 17, 2025 at 8:49 AM
mdmarques.com
Longitudinal analysis shows possible distinct patterns of associations between conspiracy beliefs and either institutional distrust or the sense of precarity

findings here suggest b/w person associations over time, rather than w/i changes

bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Magdalena Adamus, Jakub Šrol, Eva Ballová Mikušková, Jais Adam-Troian, Maria Chayinska Abstract The paper reports longitudinal analyses examining the extent to which institutional trust mediates the relationship between individuals' sense of precarity and their adherence to conspiracy beliefs. Across three waves, 925 participants (50.2% female) between the ages of 18 and 85 (M = 49.53; SD = 15.81) reported subjective appraisals of their financial situation (precarity), trust in institutions and adherence to conspiracy beliefs. The current study extends the previous analyses by including three-wave longitudinal data. The preregistered autoregressive cross-lagged panel model supports the notion that a sense of precarity follows adherence to conspiracy beliefs rather than preceding them, while institutional (dis)trust and conspiracy beliefs show a bidirectional pattern. However, the random-intercept cross-lagged panel model does not corroborate this, suggesting that the effects may be driven by stable between-person differences rather than actual within-person changes. Additionally, the latter model reveals two separate temporal patterns linking conspiracy beliefs with either the sense of precarity or institutional trust, opening the possibility that our results were driven by two distinct underlying mechanisms. The paper discusses the importance of longitudinal studies for a more accurate understanding of social-psychological realities in which conspiracy beliefs and suspicions of institutions may flourish.
December 16, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
alelazic.bsky.social
Perhaps I'm late to the party, but you can now feature up to 5 publications on your @orcid.org record 🤩

How to do it: support.orcid.org/hc/en-us/art...
December 16, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
karlbode.com
this is so frustrating because this poorly-understood disease needs so much research, education, and funding and instead this clownish dipshit is exploiting people's suffering with his pseudo-populist conspiratorial cack
RFK, Jr.–Backed Lyme Disease Conspiracy Theory May Be Probed under New Bill
President Donald Trump is expected to sign a defense bill this week that orders an investigation into whether the U.S. military bioengineered Lyme disease
www.scientificamerican.com
December 16, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
sonja-utz.de
New paper co-authored with @kaisassenberg.bsky.social and @lpummerer.bsky.social out: We used five waves of longitudinal data to untangle how health vs. economic fears relate between- and within-subjects to quality vs. alternative media use www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Do fears drive media consumption? A longitudinal study on the relationships between different fears and media consumption during COVID-19 in Germany
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, cross-sectional work identified differential relationships between health-related vs. economic fears and the consumption of quality versus alternativ...
www.tandfonline.com
December 16, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
andrew.heiss.phd
Grading and googling hallucinated citations, as one does nowadays, and now that LLMs have been around for a while, I've discovered new horrors: hallucinated journals are now appearing in Google Scholar with dozens of citations bc so many people are citing these fake things
December 15, 2025 at 8:41 PM
mdmarques.com
today's soundtrack after a rough Monday involving two planned medical appointments and a bonus one following a very sharp knife and a mistaken case of thumb for onion incident.

all good, just taking it very easy today.
AIR play "Moon Safari" - Royal Albert Hall - ARTE Concert
YouTube video by ARTE Concert
youtu.be
December 15, 2025 at 8:58 PM
mdmarques.com
Does Repetition Increase Perceived Truth Equally for Conspiracy and Trivia Statements?
@shaunambowes.bsky.social @lkfazio.bsky.social
see osf.io/b2pk4/

implications include for the monological belief theory, hearing/believing in on CT -> belief in others (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....)
December 14, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
bencollins.bsky.social
This is fucking grim. Somebody invented a white guy, an "IT professional" named Edward Crabtree, who stopped the Bondi shooting and spread it all over the internet, which was picked up by AI agents and slop aggregation sites.

The real hero is a fruit stand owner named Ahmed el Ahmed.
A wrong Grok post making up a white guy who stopped the Australian mass shooting. BBC 'Hero' who wrestled gun from Bondi shooter named as Ahmed al Ahmed Emily Atkinson Sun, December 14, 2025 at 1:06 p.m. CST 2 min read A "hero" bystander who was filmed wrestling a gun from one of the Bondi Beach attackers has been named as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed. Video verified by the BBC showed Mr Ahmed run at the gunman and seize his weapon, before turning the gun round on him, forcing his retreat. Mr Ahmed, a fruit shop owner and father of two, remains in hospital, where he has undergone surgery for bullet wounds to his arm and hand, his family told 7News Australia.
December 14, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by mat marques, ph.d.
richardkadrey.bsky.social
The fact Sinners didn't make Variety's best movies of the year list tells you pretty much everything you need to know about Hollywood. The backlash the movie has received is fascinating, mostly coming across as, "How dare you be so successful?"
December 13, 2025 at 7:24 PM