[Conspiracies] The Psychology of Conspiracy Theorists

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In my brief time on Steemit so far, I’ve met such a wide variety of wonderful people from so many different walks of life with differing takes on things. Amongst the many individuals I’ve had exchanges here, there is one “group” of people who I’ve come into contact with that I hadn’t before, and that’s conspiracy theorists, or I think they prefer the term “truthers”. My introduction to this group has largely come about as a result of my posts regarding my Asperger’s, as they just love to point out that they have just the remedy I need. In the past, I’ve responded to these people in kind, in an attempt to better understand who they are and why they think what they do.

The connecting thread between the individuals I’ve spoken to has always been vaccinations. Vaccinations cause Autism, vaccinations are purposefully designed to make us ill thanks to Big Pharma, vaccinations weaken the immune system. I find the notion that vaccinations cause Autism to be particularly insulting and troublesome, no scratch that straight up dangerous. However, that isn’t the point of this post anymore. Originally, I was going to take all the arguments against vaccinations that I’ve been given and break them down one by one, show the supposed studies backing these claims up for the fraudulent scams that they are. Last night, after yet another one of these interactions, I asked myself why? Why bother? I can’t change their minds, and they certainly can’t change mine with their flimsy logic and dated arguments.

So, the question is what makes these people like this? Why is it that roughly 50% of US citizens believe in these fallacies? Well, Research has identified a number of personality traits and characteristics that are now known to be associated with belief in conspiracy theories such as paranoia, cynicism, mistrust, feelings of powerlessness, anxiety, and uncertainty. This certainly lines up with my experiences so far, as a common sentiment seems to be “I once trusted the Government…”. As with most things though, this isn’t the whole picture. There are other factors at play here, as people with lower levels of education are far more likely to fall into this way of thinking, whereas it seems people who have developed their analytical skills seem to be more impervious to conspiracy theories.

Another factor can be extreme political views, as people who lie at the extremes in terms of their political orientation are more likely to embrace conspiracies. This works both ways, with both the “regressive left” and “alt-right” falling into this trap. This gives us a good picture of who believes in conspiracy theories, but now the question is why?

It is now believed that a wide range of psychological factors are at play with individuals who buy into conspiracy theories, with recent research suggesting that a number of cognitive tendencies and thinking styles can predict how likely we are to be attracted to conspiracy theories. These include basic cognitive biases such as the tendency to perceive patterns or agency and intentionality where none exist. Put simply, people’s belief in conspiracy theories can in part be explained by how people organise information in their mind. Another factor could be that these individuals, like their anarchic teenage counterparts, just want to feel different, unique. I can understand that feeling.

Is this way of thinking not harmful to the individual though? Well, in short it appears that yes it is. Psychologists are still trying to work out how specific types of conspiracy theories might have different consequences, but research to date suggests that, in general, the consequences are negative. It would seem that conspiracy theories would unite people and mobilise them to get together and force political change, but the opposite seems to be true. Believers in politics-based conspiracy theories are less likely to want to engage in the political system, and just from anecdotal evidence that rings true with me. Anti-vaxxers persuade other parents not to vaccinate their kids against potentially deadly diseases and climate change deniers are less likely to try to alter their carbon footprint. That’s without mentioning the potential harm to relationships, job commitment and satisfaction and increasing isolation.

I’m now of the opinion that there’s very little that can be done for these souls who have tumbled too far down the rabbit hole. Trying to tackle their individual arguments is a waste of time and energy, as they aren’t interested in hearing an alternative perspective, their minds are made up. However, there is a real problem of misinformation on this platform, and the internet as a whole. That is something I intend to tackle, but I’m going to need to go back to the drawing board for now. As with most things, more research is needed.

The strange thing I’ve noticed is how these people use the exact same techniques;

1. Hijack comment thread
2. Copy and paste walls of text
3. Spread their messages out over many comments and posts
4. Pushing of supposed studies, that are at best fraudulent, and worst case don’t even exist
5. Selective arguments; pick and choose specific excerpts and focus in on them, ignoring the larger context

In future, any comments I receive on my posts pushing pseudoscientific quackery will only receive a link to this post. I have neither the time, nor the patience for this kind of lunacy. Well, that’s my rambly rant over, what did you think? Let me know your thoughts and feelings in the comment section down below, and as always make sure to follow me for the latest Cryptocurrency, Internet and Pop Culture updates. Until we meet again, see you on the flipside!

Sources:
The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5724570/)
Secrets and lies: The psychology of conspiracy theories (http://sciencenordic.com/secrets-and-lies-psychology-conspiracy-theories)

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