Political Ideology and Paranormal Belief: An Experimental Approach

Following Weberian reasoning on the effect of religion on political practices, this research aims to study experimentally the influence of a paranormal issue on political ideology. The experiment was attended by 150 university students and allocated to four experimental conditions and a control condition (30x5=150). In the experiment, participants were given text supporting the existence of elves (minority position) or their absence (authority position) with an increased or decreased level of conflict. A scale followed, measuring belief in elves (direct influence), general paranormal beliefs (first indirect influence) and political ideology (second indirect influence). The results confirmed the dynamic of minority influence, especially in high conflict-level conditions. It also emerged that paranormal beliefs can affect the adoption of right-wing positions.