Identification and Ranking of Factors Influencing the Prevention of Conspiracy Delusion with a Focus on Political Behavior in Iranian Government Organizations

Abstract

Conspiracy delusion in Iranian government organizations—recognized as one of the most destructive psycho-social phenomena—is associated with intensified political behaviors, reduced social capital, weakened cooperation, and the deterioration of employees’ psychological well-being. It constitutes a serious obstacle to organizational development and performance improvement. This study was conducted with the aim of identifying and ranking the factors influencing the prevention of conspiracy delusion, with a specific focus on political behavior in Iranian government organizations. Using a mixed-methods approach, thematic analysis was applied in the qualitative phase, and the fuzzy DEMATEL method was employed in the quantitative phase. The statistical population consisted of 15 experts (senior and middle managers, human resource specialists, researchers in psychology and organizational behavior, and policymakers in the Civil Service sector) who were studied through in-depth semi-structured interviews and a fuzzy DEMATEL questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using MAXQDA 2020 and MATLAB software. A total of 157 semantic statements were categorized into 17 sub-themes, which were subsequently grouped into six main dimensions: individual psychological factors, socio-cultural factors, political-institutional factors, informational-media factors, economic factors, and organizational-managerial factors. The findings indicated that socio-cultural factors (D+R = 3.524), organizational-managerial factors (D+R = 3.489), and political-institutional factors (D+R = 3.455) possess the highest overall importance and interaction levels, while economic factors (D+R = 1.878), with the highest D–R value (1.234), play the strongest causal and foundational role. For the first time, this study proposes a fully localized and multidimensional model for preventing conspiracy delusion that simultaneously integrates foundational economic factors and highly interactive upper-level dimensions within a unified causal network. By combining thematic analysis and fuzzy DEMATEL, the model enables precise and scientific prioritization of factors. This model can significantly contribute to reducing destructive political behaviors, enhancing organizational trust, improving cooperation, and promoting employees’ psychological well-being and performance in Iran’s public sector.