Conspiracy Theory Disorder: Understanding Why People Believe

Whenever something new happens — whether it’s a pandemic that grips the world, a rise in a disorder’s diagnosis, or a new technology being rolled out — people have theories. Specifically, conspiracy theories. More often than not, such theories are based upon specious links between one or more unrelated events. Rarely do conspiracy theories have any scientific backing. And when they do, it’s often a lone article or white paper published online. Or maybe just a YouTuber who “was told by my friend who works at so-and-so.” Friend-of-a-friend-of-someone-who-knows (or works there, someone in law enforcement, or a “scientist”) is regularly offered as “proof.” What drives conspiracy theories and their dramatic increase in the online world? And could people who adamantly believe such theories in the face of overwhelming evidence otherwise suffer from a disorder? Conspiracy theories have been with us as long as there have been conspiracies. The idea that there is a vast, insidious network of people who are perpetrating acts in order to forward their own sinister agenda is an old one (Goertzel, 1994). Whether it’s the multiple shooters theory of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy or the 9/11 bombings in the U.S. in 2001 being an “inside job,” whenever something significant happens in the world, there are a small but growing subset of people who believe it is happening for some insidious, evi...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Brain and Behavior General Psychology Research 5g Conspiracy Theories conspiracy theory disorder coronavirus covid19 Source Type: blogs