Page 52 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - September 2021

52 The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories

The Psychology of

Conspiracy Theories

Continued from Page 51

Summary, Caveats, and Future Research

Research thus far has successfully articulated
some of the motivations that, together with
deficiencies in available information, cognitive
ability, and motivation to think critically, may
contribute to conspiracy belief. Although
scholars have theorized about the consequences
of conspiracy beliefs for their adherents and the
community, relatively little empirical research
has been done to explore them. Nevertheless,
preliminary work suggests that despite the
allure of conspiracy beliefs for people who have
heightened epistemic, existential, and social
motives, they may ultimately thwart those investigations of disadvantaged and threatened BET YOU DIDN’T
motives further. In this sense, conspiracy populations are needed. In particular, future KNOW THAT...
theories might be seen as an ironic or self- research needs to examine individuals whose
psychological needs are chronically or
defeating manifestation of motivated social
cognition. There are grounds to expect further experimentally threatened and determine ...there’s a difference between coffins and
research to corroborate this preliminary picture whether conspiracy belief moves them closer to caskets: coffins are six-sided, with shoulders,
since, as we have seen, conspiracy theories have or further away from the fulfillment of these and are tapered from the shoulders down;
some attributes that do not lend themselves to needs. In one such design, Jolley, Douglas, and caskets are four-sided and rectangular.
Sutton (2017) exposed people to threats to the
the fulfillment of these motives—for example,
they are generally speculative and contrarian, legitimacy of their social system. They found ...the unit of measurement for the speed of a
represent the public as ignorant and at the mercy that the deleterious effects of these threats on computer mouse is known as a mickey.
of unaccountable powers, and impute highly satisfaction with the status quo were eliminated
antisocial and cynical motives to other when participants were also exposed to ...Will Smith’s real first name is bot William -
conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories
individuals. it’s Willard.
therefore appeared to buffer people from the
Nonetheless, there are also grounds to expect effects of threats to the status quo. ...the name of the old, bearded sorcerer in Walt
future research to show that conspiracy theories Disney’s 1940 film Fantasia is Yen Sid - which
fulfill the needs of some people. The Conclusion is “Disney” spelled backwards.
experimental research conducted thus far has
sampled from populations (undergraduate We have reviewed the current literature on the ...the involuntary act of yawning that stretching
students and survey panelists) that are not psychological factors that appear to drive that you do upon waking up or when very sleepy
particularly disadvantaged or threatened and conspiracy belief. We conclude that conspiracy is called pandiculation.
that generally do not endorse conspiracy belief appears to stem to a large extent from
theories. For these people, conspiracy theories epistemic, existential, and social motives. ...the official bird of Redondo Beach, California,
are likely to be experienced as unsettling, Research has yet to demonstrate that it is the Goodyear Blimp.
destabilizing, and potentially alienating. effectively serves those motivations, and early
However, these people are not whom scholars indications are that it may often thwart them. It ...the longest TV commercial ever was a 14-hour
have had in mind when they have argued that is possible, therefore, that conspiracy belief is a ad for Old Spice aftershave, which aired in Sao
conspiracy theories may sometimes be adaptive. self-defeating form of motivated social Paulo, Brazil, on December 8, 2018. (It starred
They include groups and individuals who are cognition. However, important questions Brooklyn 99 actor Terry Crews.)
already alienated from society and for whom remain open, and more controlled research on
conspiracy theories may offer some the consequences of conspiracy beliefs is ...there’s a court above the U.S. Supreme Court.
compensation. These include disempowered needed, particularly on the vulnerable and It’s a basketball court. It’s on the fifth floor of
groups who may use conspiracy theories to disadvantaged populations that have been the Supreme Court Building. The courtroom is
subvert dominance hierarchies by formulating identified as most likely to benefit from them. on the second.
their own understanding of realities (Sapountzis We hope that this review will serve as an
& Condor, 2013) and by fostering solidarity and organizing schema for future research on the ...Playboy magazine has bee available in Braille
collective action (Adams, O’Brien, & Nelson, psychology of conspiracy belief. [] editions since 1970.
2006). In these communities, and indeed in
online communities in which conspiracy ...the device they use to measure your feet in
theories represent normative or even official shoe stores is called a Brannock Device. (It was
positions (e.g., the 9/11 Truth movement), invented by Charles Brannock.)
conspiracy belief may offer an important source
of belonging and shared reality. Furthermore, …the cosmetic company Max Factor is named
history has repeatedly shown that corporate and after a real person: Maksmilian Factorwicz, a
political elites do conspire against public Polish beautician who emigrated to the United
interests. Conspiracy theories play an important States in 1904.
role in bringing their misdeeds into the light.
...a prearranged fight between two people is
To conduct fair tests of the utility of conspiracy called a duel.if it’sbetween three people, it’s a
belief, controlled longitudinal and experimental truel.