Believing in the End of the World
Apocalyptic thinking influences how people judge threats and respond to crises.
Posted April 16, 2026 | Reviewed by Margaret Foley
Given the influx of TV shows and movies featuring end-of-the-world scenarios, including The Walking Dead , Fallout , and even Project Hail Mary , the notion that impending doom is just around the corner seems more popular than ever. While we seem resigned to the idea that the world will end someday, how comfortable we are with that often depends on how close that doomsday is and on what it might mean for how we think, feel, and act right now.
A recent study by Matthew I. Billet and colleagues, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, examines how close to the end many people think we are. Their research conclusion is difficult to ignore: Beliefs about the end of the world are not just abstract ideas. They can have a powerful influence on how people interpret global threats—and what they are willing to do about them.
A Common but Overlooked Belief
Apocalyptic thinking is often dismissed as fringe. It isn't. Roughly one in three Americans believes the world will end within their lifetime. That belief spans religious and secular communities alike, uniting groups that otherwise disagree on nearly everything.
Despite these findings, psychology has largely treated these beliefs as background noise rather than as a central factor in how people understand risk. This new study addresses the issue by treating end-of-the-world thinking as a measurable, multidimensional construct with real-world consequences.
As Billet et al. put it, “[W]e deploy a new, multidimensional measure of end-of-world beliefs to assess their prevalence, content, and correlates in a religiously diverse U.S. national sample.” They then test a critical idea: that these beliefs predict how people perceive risk, tolerate it, and support extreme actions— even after accounting for other well-known influences on risk perception.
Beyond a Simple “End Is Near” Mindset
A common assumption is that people who believe the end is near will simply feel more alarmed—but not necessarily more motivated to act. That is a unidimensional view which the current researchers reject.
Instead, they argue that end-of-the-world beliefs are multidimensional , with several distinct psychological components that operate independently. These include:
Each of these dimensions contributes in its own way to how people interpret global threats. Their existence also means that there is no single “apocalyptic mindset.” There are multiple pathways from belief to behavior.
A Lens for Understanding Global Risk
The implications become clearer when we look at how people respond to major global risks—economic instability, environmental collapse, geopolitical conflict, social disruption, and technological threats. Thus, end-of-the-world beliefs are not just one influence among many. They are unique predictors of how people respond to these risks—and often outperform traditional explanations such as knowledge, experience, or cultural background.
The findings are striking:
That last finding is particularly puzzling. Why would people who believe something beneficial will follow the end of the world still support drastic efforts to prevent it?
Billet and his team tested several possibilities—ideological extremity, religious fundamentalism, and conspiratorial thinking—but none fully explained the effect. Even when excluding people who actively wanted to hasten catastrophe, the pattern remained. In short, this is not a simple story. The psychology of apocalyptic belief contains contradictions that we do not yet fully understand.
One Narrative, Many Risks
Another key insight is that people do not form separate beliefs about each global threat. Instead, they tend to rely on a broader narrative about the fate of humanity—one that shapes how they interpret multiple risks at once. What this means is that individuals who see one risk as apocalyptic are likely to see others the same way. These beliefs function less like isolated opinions and more like a general worldview through which new information is filtered.
This helps explain why debates about specific risks—such as climate change —often feel intractable. People are not just arguing about evidence. They are operating from fundamentally different narratives about how the world works and where it is heading.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
Global risks today require coordinated action across cultures, nations, and belief systems. However, when people operate under varying underlying assumptions about the future, coordination becomes challenging.
The study highlights a sobering reality: The very beliefs people use to make sense of major challenges can undermine efforts to address them.
In each case, the issue is not just the risk itself but the story people tell about it.
Rethinking Risk Communication
If these findings hold, they have clear implications for how we communicate about global threats.
Simply presenting facts is not enough. Effective communication must also engage with the deeper narratives people hold about the future.
For some, emphasizing human agency may increase engagement. For others, highlighting long-term consequences may backfire if the timeline feels too distant—or too inevitable.
Understanding these belief systems does not mean endorsing them. It means recognizing that they are part of the psychological landscape shaping public response.
End-of-the-world beliefs are common, diverse, and psychologically consequential.
They influence not only how people see the future but also how they act in the present—whether they push for change, resist it, or disengage entirely. As the authors conclude, these beliefs are “intertwined with various psychological and behavioral outcomes.” That makes them more than a curiosity. They are a critical factor in how societies confront the challenges that may determine their future.
And that raises an uncomfortable possibility: When people argue about global risks, they may not just be disagreeing about the evidence. They may be disagreeing about how—and whether—the world will end.
Facebook image: Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock
Billet, M. I., White, C. J. M., Shariff, A., & Norenzayan, A. (2026). End of world beliefs are common, diverse, and predict how people perceive and respond to global risks. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000519
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Romeo Vitelli, Ph.D. is a psychologist in private practice in Toronto, Canada.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.