自然界的资源是有限的，人们往往需要共享这些有限的自然资源，因此常常面临着资源困境。以往大部分研究都从个体视角考察个体在资源困境中的可持续行为，多关注个体因素或情境中的规范性因素对于个体决策的影响，但人们更多时候是以群体为单位共享资源，因此，从群体互动的角度考察隶属于不同群体的个体在资源困境中的行为决策更为重要，也更能反映社会中的真实情况。本研究试图从群际阴谋论这一群际互动中的重要情境因素所诱发的群际阴谋论信念出发，探究其对个体在跨群体资源困境中可持续行为的影响及其作用机制。

群际阴谋论可以“预示”个体此时某个具有明确指向的外群体可能正在密谋伤害个体所处的内群体。以往关于阴谋论信念对社会行为影响的研究已经证实，接触阴谋论所引发的阴谋论信念会使人们“减少投入”甚至“退出”某些重要领域的社会行为，而由于群际阴谋论信念本质上也是一种阴谋论信念，本研究推断其应同样可以预测个体在群际行为方面的“退出”，即个体在跨群体资源困境中表现得“不合作”，更倾向于抢夺资源而非表现出可持续行为。同时，由于阴谋论总是具有“威胁”性，群际阴谋论信念还可能激活个体的群际威胁感知，从而导致个体在跨群体资源困境中只追求自己群体的利益和发展，表现得更不可持续。据此，本文通过两个研究分别对群际阴谋论信念和跨群体资源困境中可持续行为的关系以及群际威胁感知的中介作用进行了探究。

研究一通过三个子研究验证了群际阴谋论信念对跨群体资源困境中可持续行为的消极影响。研究1a首先通过线上问卷初步探索了真实群际阴谋论信念与跨群体资源困境中可持续行为间的相关关系，研究1b随后在实验室中操纵了虚拟群际阴谋论信念，验证了因果关系；研究1c进一步结合了资源困境的真实性和群际阴谋的虚拟性，通过问卷操纵群际阴谋论信念再次考察了其与跨群体资源困境中可持续行为间的关系。具体而言，研究1a发现在控制了个体本身的特质阴谋论信念和社会赞许性后，真实的群际阴谋论信念仍能消极影响他们在跨群体资源困境中表现出的可持续行为水平。研究1b通过营造虚拟群际互动和阴谋场景的方式操纵群际阴谋论信念，发现相比控制组，阴谋论组个体会在资源困境博弈中砍伐更多树木，验证了群际阴谋论信念与跨群体资源困境中可持续行为的因果关系。研究1c首先通过太湖地区的阅读材料操纵了被试的群际阴谋论信念，然后通过基于群体的假想资源困境任务测量了被试在资源困境下的可持续行为意愿和目标用水量，结果发现个体的群际阴谋论信念越强，越倾向于做出更不可持续的水资源获取决策。通过三个子研究，研究一证实了群际阴谋论信念可以降低跨群体资源困境中的可持续行为，且无论是个体真实存在的还是被临时诱发的群际阴谋论信念都会对跨群体资源困境中的可持续行为产生消极影响。

在研究一的基础上，研究二通过两个子研究探究了群际威胁感知在群际阴谋论信念与跨群体资源困境中可持续行为关系间的中介作用。研究2a通过线上问卷探索了中国人的真实群际阴谋论信念与跨群体资源困境中可持续行为间的关系，并初步检验了群际威胁感知的中介作用；研究2b则在实验室中设置了真实的群际互动场景，再次操纵了个体的群际阴谋论信念，通过面对面的群体资源困境博弈任务进一步检验了假设模型。具体而言，研究2a采用线上问卷研究，发现群际阴谋论信念更强的个体会感知到更强的群际威胁，从而拥有更低的可持续行为意愿。研究2b让两组被试在实验室中进行真实互动，通过环保捐款和被试费发放营造出群体与环境利益相冲突的情境，并让被试在面对面的群体资源困境博弈任务中做出砍伐决策，结果发现阴谋论组个体有更强的群际威胁感知，从而会在博弈任务中选择砍伐更多树木，表现得更不可持续。通过两个子研究，研究二证实了群际威胁感知在群际阴谋论信念与跨群体资源困境中可持续行为间的中介作用。群际阴谋论信念会使个体产生更强的群际威胁感知，进而使个体在跨群体资源困境中表现出更少的可持续行为。

本文共包含两个大研究五个子研究，每个大研究中的子研究均从问卷调查入手，首先对现象进行相关关系的初步探索，随后采用规范的实验或情境设计再次进行因果论证。结果发现，群际阴谋论信念会降低个体在跨群体资源困境中的可持续行为，群际威胁感知起到了中介作用。面对全球性的资源危机，本研究较为创新地从群际互动视角扩展了群际阴谋论社会后果的研究，验证了其对“群际合作行为”的消极效应，同时也检验了该消极效应产生的内在机制，为干预人们的不可持续行为提供了一些策略上的建议。

Natural resources are limited, and people often need to share these limited resources, so they are often faced with resource dilemmas. Most previous studies have studied people’s sustainable behaviors in resource dilemmas from the perspective of individuals, paying attention to the effects of individual factors or normative factors in situations on decision-making. However, we mostly share resources as a unit of groups. Therefore, it is more important to study the decision-making of individuals from different groups in resource dilemmas from the perspective of group dynamics. It is also more reflective of the real situation in society. This study attempts to explore the effect of intergroup conspiracy beliefs on individuals’ sustainable behaviors in intergroup resource dilemmas and its underlying mechanisms from the perspective of an important situational factor in intergroup interactions.

Intergroup conspiracy theories represent that a specific outgroup may be plotting to harm the ingroup. Previous studies on the influence of conspiracy beliefs on social behaviors have confirmed that conspiracy beliefs can cause people to “reduce investment” or even “withdraw” from social behaviors in some important areas. Since intergroup conspiracy belief is essentially a conspiracy belief, this study concludes that it should also be able to predict individuals’ “withdrawal” from intergroup behaviors. In other words, individuals will behave “uncooperatively” in intergroup resource dilemmas and are more inclined to snatch resources rather than show sustainable behaviors. At the same time, since conspiracy theory is always “threatening”, intergroup conspiracy beliefs may also activate individuals’ intergroup threat perception, which may make individuals only pursue the interests and development of their own group in intergroup resource dilemmas (i.e., more unsustainable). Therefore, this research explores the relationship between intergroup conspiracy beliefs and sustainable behaviors in intergroup resource dilemmas and the mediating role of intergroup threat perception through two studies.

Study 1 examined the negative effect of intergroup conspiracy beliefs on sustainable behaviors in intergroup resource dilemmas through three substudies. Study 1a preliminarily explored the correlation between real intergroup conspiracy beliefs and sustainable behaviors in intergroup resource dilemmas through an online questionnaire. Study 1b then manipulated virtual intergroup conspiracy beliefs in the laboratory to verify the causal relationship. Study 1c further combined the authenticity of resource dilemmas with the virtuality of intergroup conspiracy theories, and again examined the causal relationship between intergroup conspiracy beliefs and sustainable behaviors in intergroup resource dilemmas. Specifically, Study 1a found that even after controlling individuals’ trait conspiracy beliefs and social desirability, real intergroup conspiracy beliefs still negatively correlated with their levels of sustainable behaviors in intergroup resource dilemmas. Study 1b manipulated intergroup conspiracy beliefs by creating virtual intergroup interactions and conspiracy situations, and found that individuals in the conspiracy group would cut down more trees in the resource dilemma game than those in the control group, thus verified the causal relationship between intergroup conspiracy beliefs and sustainable behaviors in intergroup resource dilemmas. Study 1c first manipulated participants’ intergroup conspiracy beliefs through reading materials about Taihu Lake, and then measured their sustainable behavioral intentions and water consumption intentions under the resource dilemma through a group-based imagined resource dilemma task. The results showed that the stronger individuals’ intergroup conspiracy beliefs, the more inclined they were to make unsustainable water resource acquisition decisions. Through three substudies, Study 1 confirmed that intergroup conspiracy beliefs could reduce sustainable behaviors in intergroup resource dilemmas and that intergroup conspiracy beliefs, whether real or temporarily induced, would have a negative impact on sustainable behaviors in intergroup resource dilemmas.

Based on Study 1, Study 2 explored the mediating role of intergroup threat perception in the relationship between intergroup conspiracy beliefs and sustainable behaviors in intergroup resource dilemmas through two substudies. In Study 2a, an online questionnaire was used to explore the relationship between Chinese people’s real intergroup conspiracy beliefs and sustainable behaviors in intergroup resource dilemmas and to preliminarily test the mediating role of intergroup threat perception. Study 2b set up a real intergroup interaction situation in the laboratory, again manipulated individuals’ intergroup conspiracy beliefs, and further test the hypothetical model through a face-to-face group-based resource dilemma game. Specifically, using online questionnaires, Study 2a found that individuals with stronger intergroup conspiracy beliefs would perceive stronger intergroup threats and thus have a lower willingness to conduct sustainable behaviors. In Study 2b, two groups of participants had a real interaction in the laboratory, faced with a situation of conflict between group and environmental interests, and were supposed to make tree-cutting decisions in a face-to-face group-based resource dilemma game. The results showed that individuals in the conspiracy group had stronger intergroup threat perceptions, so they would choose to cut down more trees in the task (i.e., behave more unsustainably). Through two substudies, Study 2 confirmed the mediating role of intergroup threat perception between intergroup conspiracy beliefs and sustainable behaviors in intergroup resource dilemmas. Intergroup conspiracy beliefs will make individuals perceive stronger intergroup threat, and then make them show less sustainable behaviors in intergroup resource dilemmas.

This research consists of two studies (including five substudies). Substudies in each study start from a questionnaire survey and preliminarily explore the correlation between the variables. Then, the causality is demonstrated by experiments. The results showed that intergroup conspiracy beliefs could reduce individuals’ sustainable behaviors in intergroup resource dilemmas, and intergroup threat perception played a mediating role. In the face of the global resource crisis, this research innovatively expands the literature on the social consequence of intergroup conspiracy theories from the perspective of group dynamics, verifies its negative effect on intergroup cooperative behaviors, and also examines the mechanisms underlying this negative effect, so as to provide some strategic suggestions for intervening people’s unsustainable behaviors.