When education fails: Narcissism, uniqueness, and need for closure in conspiracy beliefs and misinformation

Education is typically protective against epistemically unwarranted beliefs; however, recent research shows that these effects are conditional. Across two studies ( N = 354; N = 306), this article examines factors that moderate the relationship between education and belief accuracy across conspiracy and misinformation contexts. In Study One, narcissistic grandiosity and the need for uniqueness offset negative effects of education on conspiracy mentality. Similarly, in Study Two, narcissism, and less consistently need for cognitive closure, offset the negative effects of education on generic conspiracy beliefs and susceptibility to misinformation. Across both studies, the benefits of education disappeared at just one standard deviation above the mean on these traits. Other factors, including dichotomous thinking, trust and social dominance orientation, were associated with conspiracy beliefs but did not interact with education, showing consistent effects across all education levels. These findings suggest that education and reasoning may be made redundant by psychological needs for certainty, distinctiveness, and superiority – a process cautiously termed ‘epistemic-social motivated reasoning’. This framework describes how education-related abilities can be redirected towards underlying psychological and social needs rather than accuracy. Implications and future directions for research are discussed. • Education's protective effect is offset by narcissism, uniqueness, and closure. • Extends prior findings from conspiracy beliefs to misinformation susceptibility • Shows how psychological needs redirect reasoning away from accuracy goals • Proposes epistemic-social motivated reasoning as a new explanatory framework • Highlights implications for interventions, including AI-mediated approaches