Conspiracy Theory The psychology of conspiracy theorists

[Mofra]

There seems little doubt that some people are more susceptible to believing conspiracies, even when evidence is scant and/or of poor quality.
There has been quite a bit of research over the years on why this is.

This article is a good start for this discussion:

Psychology educator breaks down four reasons why some people fall for conspiracy theories

David Hundsness, who holds a BA in Psychology from the University of California, recently explained the whys and hows of conspiracy theories in a three-part TikTok series.

scoop.upworthy.com

 

[Werewolf]

We've had similar threads before

Not to diminish your point, but part of the problem is excessive censorship and secrecy. Obviously there's a place for that when it comes to stuff like military operations and technical details of weapons systems.

In most other circumstances, lack of transparency merely amplifies people's suspicions.

E.g. Why would documents about the JFK assassination still be kept secret?

 

[Mofra]

We've had similar threads before

Not to diminish your point, but part of the problem is excessive censorship and secrecy. Obviously there's a place for that when it comes to stuff like military operations and technical details of weapons systems.

In most other circumstances, lack of transparency merely amplifies people's suspicions.

E.g. Why would documents about the JFK assassination still be kept secret?

'Excessive' is a very subjective term.
If we consider the Covid threads, a lot of people talked about censorship yet actual medical journals were publishing articles constantly (and still are), with full public access.

 

[dustysnecktattoo]

E.g. Why would documents about the JFK assassination still be kept secret?

Same example for today’s vaccine companies trying to legally hide what is really happening and the harm they are causing

 

[footyfan1978]

I think you need to remember there are many more followers than people that genuinely have come up with their own conspiracy theory about any topic.
The blind followers are the ones that amuse me. The people that actually come up with a theory least can be interesting and entertaining. But a fair chunk of actual theory ones are just nutters and it a hobby for a bored mind. Actual theorists are way less in numbers than their followers.

 

[Mofra]

Same example for today’s vaccine companies trying to legally hide what is really happening and the harm they are causing

They aren't. This has been debunked a few times on this board

 

[dustysnecktattoo]

They aren't. This has been debunked a few times on this board

How so? Are you happy to be jabbed with something they want to hide the effects of for over 70 years? Later they’ll make it forever!?

Links please

 

[Mofra]

How so? Are you happy to be jabbed with something they want to hide the effects of for over 70 years? Later they’ll make it forever!?

Links please

Jesus, you make a claim, then ask others to disprove it? Thank you for supporting the article in the OP, I suppose.
Here's some info behind the timeframe - it's all to do with timeframes for processing of FOI requests

FDA asks for 55 years to complete FOIA request on Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine

Hungry for details on Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine? Just file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and wait until the U.S. tricentennial in 2076. | Hungry for details on Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine? Just file a FOIA request and wait until the U.S. tricentennial in 2076. That's the schedule the...

www.fiercepharma.com

The plaintiffs' lawyers say the FDA needs to fork over the information to "settle the ongoing public debate" around the agency's review process as well as to confirm its conclusion that the Pfizer vaccine is safe, effective and worthy of the public's trust.

The plaintiffs' request covers some 329,000 pages, which must first be processed and redacted before the FDA can hand them over, Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers representing the regulator stated in court documents.

The groupasked the FDA to satisfy their request by no later than March 3, 2022, giving the agency the same 108 days "from when Pfizer started producing the records for licensure on May 07, 2021, to when the product was licensed on August 23, 2021."

To meet that deadline, the FDA would need to process some 80,000 pages a month. That simply isn't feasible, the DOJ lawyers argued.

 

[dustysnecktattoo]

Jesus, you make a claim, then ask others to disprove it? Thank you for supporting the article in the OP, I suppose.
Here's some info behind the timeframe - it's all to do with timeframes for processing of FOI requests

FDA asks for 55 years to complete FOIA request on Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine

Hungry for details on Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine? Just file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and wait until the U.S. tricentennial in 2076. | Hungry for details on Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine? Just file a FOIA request and wait until the U.S. tricentennial in 2076. That's the schedule the...

www.fiercepharma.com

They asked for 75 years of which the judge said no to, but eventually money will buy them unlimited time, they shouldn’t be given more than a year, as we all know it’s a fail already! A goldfish can figure that out!

Anyway don’t wanna go to off topic

 

[Mofra]

They asked for 75 years of which the judge said no to, but eventually money will buy them unlimited time, they shouldn’t be given more than a year, as we all know it’s a fail already! A goldfish can figure that out!

Anyway don’t wanna go to off topic

It's not off topic at all, it perfectly encapsulates how conspiracy theorists make 1 + 1 = 3

Sadly, conspiracy theories can have negative real life outcomes:

How conspiracy theories led a 'fringe scientist' to escape quarantine

Anti-COVID testing, anti-COVID vaccination and heavily populated by COVID-deniers, Reignite Australia was a group that clearly spoke to Jenny D'Ubios and emboldened her to take drastic action against her confinement.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Mofra]

This can be useful:

How should you talk to friends and relatives who believe conspiracy theories?

Advice from experts and those who used to believe conspiracy theories about how to avoid rows this festive season.

www.bbc.com

People who believe conspiracy theories often say: "I do my own research."

The problem is that their research tends to consist of watching fringe YouTube videos, following random people on Facebook, and cherry-picking evidence from biased Twitter accounts.
But the spirit of doubt that pervades the conspiracy-minded internet is actually a key opening for rational thought, says Jovan Byford.
"Many people who believe in conspiracy theories see themselves as healthy sceptics and self-taught researchers into complex issues," he says. "Present this as something that, in principle, you value and share.

"Your aim is not to make them less curious or sceptical, but to change what they are curious about, or sceptical of."

That's what helped Phil from Belfast. He used to be big into 9/11 conspiracies.
"I used to point out the fact that there were various experts who doubted official stories. This was very persuasive to me," he explains. "Why would these experts lie?"
But then he began applying scepticism not to just "official sources" but also the alternative "experts" that was listening to.
He developed a deeper understanding of the scientific method and scepticism itself. Just because one expert believes something, doesn't make it true.
"You can find experts and very intelligent people who lend credence to any position," he says.
"Focus on those who are pushing these ideas, and what they might be getting," says Claire Wardle. "For instance, financial gain by selling health supplements, or reputational gain in building a following."

 

[dustysnecktattoo]

It's not off topic at all, it perfectly encapsulates how conspiracy theorists make 1 + 1 = 3

Sadly, conspiracy theories can have negative real life outcomes:

How conspiracy theories led a 'fringe scientist' to escape quarantine

Anti-COVID testing, anti-COVID vaccination and heavily populated by COVID-deniers, Reignite Australia was a group that clearly spoke to Jenny D'Ubios and emboldened her to take drastic action against her confinement.

www.smh.com.au

Dr Robert Malone, is all I have to say in regards to covid-19 vaccine!

 

[Mofra]

Ah yes, Malone.

The Vaccine Scientist Spreading Vaccine Misinformation

Robert Malone claims to have invented mRNA technology. Why is he trying so hard to undermine its use?

www.theatlantic.com

It is symptomatic of how many people drawn to conspiracy theories that reject 'mainstream science' yet will flock to anyone with the appearance of a credentialed opinion.

 

[Kurve]

This from one of Chief's threads back in May 2020. I struggled a bit to find the lines so this was real helpful. It touches on the psychology.

TWELVE STEPS ON HOW TO DISTINGUISH AN ACADEMIC THEORY FROM A CONSPIRACY THEORY by James D. Rietveld and his daughter Kristina V. Rietveld

Originally my daughter and I posted this in August of 2016--this figures in her academic field as well (Communications), but with all the CONSPIRACY THEORIES going on as related to the CORONA VIRUS I've seen on Facebook and other places, this information is relevant again. Obviously, I am not doubting the legitimacy of the Virus itself or what it is doing, but I see many additional "spins" that are the product of conspiratorial thinking!

I am teaching a course on Conspiracy Theories as related to the Social Sciences in the Fall at Cal Poly Pomona.

So let's get started:

1. A Scientific Theory can be proven false, while a Conspiracy Theory can become more elaborate to accommodate new observations and so is difficult to disprove, morphing so as to circumvent possible challenges to the legitimacy of the theory.

2. A Scientific Theory is not necessarily based upon a distrust of authority, while a Conspiracy Theory often has the distrust of authority and expert opinion at its central root. “Expert opinion" here is defined as opinions as expressed by government studies, academic research, and privatized think-tanks. They avoid evidence that goes through any legitimate peer review process.

3. A Scientific Theory always examines the totality of the body of evidence within the context of any given proposition, while a Conspiracy Theory will typically “cherry pick” through the evidence, finding what supports the already pre-believed and conceived proposition and disregard evidence that goes contrary to it.

4. Conspiracy Theories often involve what is called a “monological belief system,” whereby any and all events can be explained by a web of interconnected conspiracies, often reflecting the individual’s personal sense of paranoia. They often operate like a web, where there is a central truth, but the Conspiracy Therapist focuses upon the interconnectedness of everything as opposed to going through a step-by-step process.

5. Scientific Theorists apply critical thinking skills and are often skeptics, while Conspiracy Theorists are NOT Skeptics but “selective doubters”, already favoring a worldview, which they uncritically defend (and so have already made up their mind of what the “truth” is, with no plans to change that part of their proposition).

6. Those who have trust issues with other people in general are more likely to believe others are colluding against them, and so are often more susceptible to Conspiracy Theories than others.

7. Conspiracy Theorists often omit situational factors and chance, believing everything has deliberate intention behind it, creating imaginary links to fill in the gaps in order to make the conspiracy idea “fit” and often entertaining ideas outside the realm of logical deduction in order to do so.

8. Those who entertain Conspiracy Theories often enjoy mystery and intrigue in general, seeking something sensational and thrilling to relieve mundane daily affairs. The fact that they know something others do not makes them feel special and important. A Conspiracy Theorist's goal is typically not the advancement of knowledge, but to shock or impress you with information that will demonstrate how intelligent they are, seeing factors that the so-called experts failed to note. At the center of those who design such theories is ego, as opposed to benefiting others.

9. The simplification of complex events to human agency and evil in Conspiracy Theories overrides not only their cumulative implausibility (which, perversely, becomes cumulative plausibility as you buy into the premise) but also, in many cases, their incompatibility. Morality is applied to Conspiracy Theories, where there is a right or a wrong.

10. Timothy Melley (Empire of Conspiracy [2000]) asserts that Conspiracy Thinking arises from a combination of two factors, when someone: a) holds strong individualist values and b) lacks a sense of control. The first attribute refers to people who care deeply about an individual's right to make their own choices and direct their own lives without interference or obligations to a larger system (like the government). But combine this with a sense of powerlessness in one's own life, and you get what Melley calls agency panic, “intense anxiety about an apparent loss of autonomy” to outside forces or regulators. Conspiracy Theorists at no point will accept fault, but will displace responsibility to factors outside of themselves.

11. Conspiracy Theorists often gravitate to “echo chambers” in which they often expect to have their own opinion parroted back at them rather than have it challenged as it would be in the academic community.

12. Conspiracy Theorists attempt to create an alternative reality, whereby they legitimize themselves and their theories by creating supportive networks that seek to displace mainstream consensus. In the age of the Internet, they will create a webpage that provides them with more credibility than they already have—but this credibility is “implied” having not undergone a peer-review process.

 

[dustysnecktattoo]

Ah yes, Malone.

The Vaccine Scientist Spreading Vaccine Misinformation

Robert Malone claims to have invented mRNA technology. Why is he trying so hard to undermine its use?

www.theatlantic.com

It is symptomatic of how many people drawn to conspiracy theories that reject 'mainstream science' yet will flock to anyone with the appearance of a credentialed opinion.

Not sure what to think of what you’re saying

You’d trust the msm puppet agenda over Malone? You’d trust brett Sutton more than Malone?

 

[Mofra]

You’d trust the msm puppet agenda over Malone? You’d trust brett Sutton more than Malone?

Clearly you are the type of person that the OP has in mind.

The question is, how do you come to the conclusion that literally thousands of immunologists and health science researchers are all 'in' on some global conspiracy, yet one or two outliers (who have suddenly gained enormous personal followings as a result of their position) know some 'truth' that others don't?

As the saying goes, no conspiracy theorist has ever been a project manager.

 

[owen87]

You’d trust brett Sutton more than Malone?

Yes. Not because I think Brett Sutton himself is the world authority on SARS-CoV-2, but because Sutton at the very least is relying on information from an enormous field of experts and regulatory bodies such as the TGA and ATAGI who are experts in the relevant areas. Unlike Malone.

 

[Fwoy]

Clearly you are the type of person that the OP has in mind.

The question is, how do you come to the conclusion that literally thousands of immunologists and health science researchers are all 'in' on some global conspiracy, yet one or two outliers (who have suddenly gained enormous personal followings as a result of their position) know some 'truth' that others don't?

As the saying goes, no conspiracy theorist has ever been a project manager.

are you familiar with the story of the Emperor‘s new clothes?

 

[ash_1050]

“The main thing that I learned about conspiracy theory, is that conspiracy theorists believe in a conspiracy because that is more comforting. The truth of the world is that it is actually chaotic. The truth is that it is not The Iluminati, or The Jewish Banking Conspiracy, or the Gray Alien Theory. The truth is far more frightening - Nobody is in control. The world is rudderless.”

- Alan Moore

 

[Lebbo73]

Jesus, you make a claim, then ask others to disprove it? Thank you for supporting the article in the OP, I suppose.
Here's some info behind the timeframe - it's all to do with timeframes for processing of FOI requests

FDA asks for 55 years to complete FOIA request on Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine

Hungry for details on Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine? Just file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and wait until the U.S. tricentennial in 2076. | Hungry for details on Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine? Just file a FOIA request and wait until the U.S. tricentennial in 2076. That's the schedule the...

www.fiercepharma.com

Geez, you swallowed the bs. Btw, Pfizer went back to court asking for the vaccine data to be hidden for 75 years.

 

[Lebbo73]

This can be useful:

How should you talk to friends and relatives who believe conspiracy theories?

Advice from experts and those who used to believe conspiracy theories about how to avoid rows this festive season.

www.bbc.com

Remember how Trump had an affair with Stormy Daniels and to say otherwise was a conspiracy theory

 

[Mofra]

Geez, you swallowed the bs. Btw, Pfizer went back to court asking for the vaccine data to be hidden for 75 years.

The explanation is right there. Anyone familiar with FOI requests would have known why they take so long. In Australia the government can actually charge a nominal fee per page for fulfilling an FOI request.

I think you're so far down the rabbit hole you won't be able to recognise many of the traits outlined in the OP in yourself.

 

[Mofra]

“The main thing that I learned about conspiracy theory, is that conspiracy theorists believe in a conspiracy because that is more comforting. The truth of the world is that it is actually chaotic. The truth is that it is not The Iluminati, or The Jewish Banking Conspiracy, or the Gray Alien Theory. The truth is far more frightening - Nobody is in control. The world is rudderless.”

- Alan Moore

There is certainly an element of that.
The idea that the world is chaotic, disordered and that sometimes good things happen to good people is terrifying. Some will naturally explain this away by it being of the design of some invisible cabal of boogymen out of a sense of comfort.

Any reasonable explanation is then rejected as simply being part of some grand conspiracy, so for some people reasonable explanations and facts can easily be ignored ad nauseum.

 

[zill]

There seems little doubt that some people are more susceptible to believing conspiracies, even when evidence is scant and/or of poor quality.
There has been quite a bit of research over the years on why this is.

This article is a good start for this discussion:

Psychology educator breaks down four reasons why some people fall for conspiracy theories

David Hundsness, who holds a BA in Psychology from the University of California, recently explained the whys and hows of conspiracy theories in a three-part TikTok series.

scoop.upworthy.com

The accusations he throws out at people who believe conspiracy theories can all be leveled at himself. Especially the "following the in-group" and ego claims.

What's really surprising is that the pharma companies and govts can come out and tell you that people die from the vaccine and there is still this huge grassroots movement to ignore it, to the point where anyone who is hesitant of getting the vaccine is lumped into a category of people who believe in bigfoot and elvis still being alive.

 

[zill]

https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/376/bmj.o102.full.pdf

The british medical journal thinks the data used to justify regulatory approval should be made available.

Are they indulging in conspiracy theory, or science?