Committee Chair

Wilhelm, Ricardo

Committee Member

Teaford, Max; Heise, Sarah

Department

Dept. of Psychology

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Conspiracy theories present emotionally salient and socially consequential information that may influence credibility evaluation, particularly in online environments where social cues are prevalent. Although behavioral predictors of conspiracy belief have been widely studied, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying credibility evaluation. The present study used electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine neural responses during a conspiracy message evaluation task under varying social credibility conditions (high, ambiguous, individual). Participants evaluated conspiracy and true messages while EEG was recorded, and resting-state frontal alpha asymmetry was assessed. Conspiracy messages elicited greater right-frontal LPP amplitudes than true messages, indicating enhanced regulatory engagement. Social credibility modulated sustained attention (P3) and regulatory processing (LPP), and resting frontal alpha asymmetry predicted LPP amplitudes. These findings inform an Integrated Regulatory-Motivational Model of Credibility Evaluation.

Acknowledgments

I would first like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Ricardo Wilhelm, for his invaluable guidance, mentorship, and support throughout the completion of this thesis, and for taking me in as his first student and providing me with a lab home where I could grow as a researcher and scholar. I am also deeply grateful to my committee members, Drs. Max Teaford and Sarah Heise, for their time, expertise, and thoughtful feedback. Their insights strengthened this work and contributed meaningfully to its final form. I would also like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Jason Miller for providing opportunities that offered a welcome reprieve from thesis work and for helping me cultivate my passion for political psychology. I would like to acknowledge and thank the URACE program for the SEARCH Award that provided funding support for this project. I am also grateful to the members of the AMPPS Lab for their assistance and general support throughout this research process. Beyond the academic support that made this work possible, I am profoundly grateful to my parents for their unwavering love, encouragement, and belief in me. Their support provided the foundation that carried me through the most challenging moments of this journey. I am incredibly thankful for my amazing friend, Samantha Dean, whose companionship, humor, and resilience helped keep me grounded and sane as we navigated the trenches of graduate school together. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my cats, Hobbes and Pepper, whose steady companionship and quiet presence provided comfort during late-night work sessions and throughout the many challenges of this process.

Degree

M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science.

Date

5-2026

Subject

Belief and doubt; Cognitive neuroscience; Conspiracy theories

Keyword

Belief and doubt; Cognitive psychology; Conspiracy theories; Truthfulness and falsehood

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

xiii; 95 leaves

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Date Available

5-31-2027

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Available for download on Monday, May 31, 2027

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