Conspiracy

Why do people believe in conspiracies ?

By T.K. Randall
May 5, 2013 ·  686 comments

Image Credit: NASA Far from being the beliefs of a few fringe theorists, conspiracies are more widespread today than they've ever been. A national poll released last month indicated that as many as 37 percent of Americans believed that global warming is a hoax, 28 percent that the world is under threat from a New World Order and 21 percent were under the impression that the government is concealing evidence of extraterrestrial visitation. But what is it that leads to such beliefs ?

In a recent study, psychologists Micheal Wood, Karen Douglas and Robbie Suton suggested that belief in a conspiracy theory is not so much down to the specifics of the actual theory but pertains more to higher-order beliefs that lead to conspiracy-like thinking - an ideological lens through which the world is viewed. Those who generally distrust authority figures for instance are more likely to believe in conspiracies than those who don't.[!gad]Far from being the beliefs of a few fringe theorists, conspiracies are more widespread today than they've ever been. A national poll released last month indicated that as many as 37 percent of Americans believed that global warming is a hoax, 28 percent that the world is under threat from a New World Order and 21 percent were under the impression that the government is concealing evidence of extraterrestrial visitation. But what is it that leads to such beliefs ?

In a recent study, psychologists Micheal Wood, Karen Douglas and Robbie Suton suggested that belief in a conspiracy theory is not so much down to the specifics of the actual theory but pertains more to higher-order beliefs that lead to conspiracy-like thinking - an ideological lens through which the world is viewed. Those who generally distrust authority figures for instance are more likely to believe in conspiracies than those who don't.

Source: Scientific American | Comments (686)

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