Autonomy-Frustrating Memories Boost COVID-19 Conspiracy Beliefs, Canadian Studies Find

Two experiments conducted in Quebec during the COVID-19 pandemic examined how recalling autonomy-frustrating experiences influences conspiracy acceptance. In Study 1, 141 adults (mean age 40) read one of three grocery-store scenarios that varied in restriction severity and then recalled a personal memory. A week later they completed scales measuring need satisfaction, psychological reactance, and agreement with seven COVID-19 conspiracy statements. In Study 2, 213 adults (mean age 45) all read the most restrictive scenario, described their triggered memory, and were subliminally primed with neutral keywords drawn from their own memory (experimental) or another participant’s memory (control). One week after priming, participants evaluated a fabricated Twitter conspiracy claim. Across both studies, participants exposed to higher autonomy frustration—either via the restrictive story or the subliminal prime—showed greater endorsement, anger, and willingness to share the bogus conspiracy, whereas those in the non-restrictive condition did not.

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Conspiracy beliefs arise when individuals perceive events as secretly controlled by powerful groups and view official explanations as incomplete. Psychological research links such beliefs to uncertainty, perceived powerlessness, and heightened need for certainty. Self-determination theory posits that thwarted basic psychological needs—autonomy, competence, relatedness—can trigger reactance, a motivational state marked by “I consider advice from others to be an intrusion.” The pandemic’s mask mandates and lockdowns created real-world autonomy constraints, providing a natural testbed for these mechanisms.

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The studies were authored by Marie-Jeanne Leonard and Frederick L. Philippe, whose paper “Priming Need–Frustrating Memories Sparks Conspiracy Beliefs: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective” appeared in the *Journal of Personality*.

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• Study 1: Interaction between story restriction level and recalled autonomy frustration predicted conspiracy endorsement; the effect vanished in the non-restrictive group.

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• Study 2: Participants primed with their own autonomy-frustrating memory were significantly more likely to agree with the fake conspiracy, report higher anger, and indicate greater intent to disseminate it than control-primed participants.

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• Trait reactance and everyday autonomy frustration correlated positively with conspiracy endorsement, while lower competence frustration also predicted higher endorsement.

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The findings suggest that situational cues reviving memories of lost freedom can amplify susceptibility to misinformation, especially when individuals already experience high reactance. Public-health messaging that inadvertently triggers autonomy threats may unintentionally fuel conspiracy spread, underscoring the need for communication strategies that respect perceived autonomy.

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Leonard and Philippe concluded that autonomy-frustrating memories constitute a psychological pathway to conspiracy endorsement, emphasizing the interaction between personal memories and environmental triggers.

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The authors acknowledge possible selection bias: individuals strongly endorsing COVID-19 conspiracies might have avoided participation due to mistrust of scientific research. Moreover, the exclusive focus on COVID-19 conspiracies limits generalizability to other domains.

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The studies did not assess long-term belief persistence, cross-cultural replication, or the impact of alternative memory content (e.g., competence-satisfying memories).

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• “Conspiracy beliefs are beliefs that important events or situations are secretly controlled by powerful groups acting in hidden and harmful ways.” — PsyPost editorial summary

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• “I consider advice from others to be an intrusion” — Item from the Hong Psychological Reactance Scale

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• “The government exaggerates the number of detected COVID-19 cases and COVID-19-related deaths” — Example of a bogus COVID-19 conspiracy claim (fake Twitter post)

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• “This research highlights the role of autonomy-frustrating memories in endorsing conspiracy theories, suggesting that such endorsement can emerge from the interplay between the individual (memories) and the environment (triggering cues),” — Marie-Jeanne Leonard & Frederick L. Philippe, study authors

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• “Additionally, participants with higher trait reactance and higher general (everyday) autonomy frustration tended to report higher endorsement of conspiracy beliefs.” — Study findings (Leonard & Philippe)

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Further work should examine whether similar memory-priming effects occur with non-COVID conspiracies, test interventions that mitigate autonomy threat, and expand sampling beyond Quebec to assess cultural robustness.

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