Title: The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories
1The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracism has become a kind of
para-religion. Citing a survey from George
magazine, the author went on to claim that
three-quarters of Americans believe that the
Government is involved in conspiracy. Depending
on your level of venality, that statistic can be
read as either a mass psychosis or a marketing
opportunity. Marin Gegax
2Taco Liberty Bell Hoax
April 1, 1996, Taco Bell takes out a full page ad
in New York Times claiming that they purchased
the Liberty Bell.
- April Fools Joke
- Ad Costs Taco Bell 300,000
- Thousands of people call to angrily protest
- Did it help Taco Bell?
- Sales increase over 1 million in 2 days
- Why this public reaction?
3Human Beings are powered by emotion, not reason
- Emotion and reason are intertwined, but when they
are in conflict, emotion wins every time. - Under times of great stress and anxiety, people
can become borderline delusional.
4Power Knowledge
- The more powerless people feel, the more they
tend to conceptualize ways to explain the
complexities of their surroundings. Na'im
Akbar, Ph.D - It brings order out of chaos.
5Power Knowledge
- Lower class/undereducated
- Educated and bourgeoisie class (middle)
- The more you know,
- the more you find out you dont know.
6Power Knowledge
- Mrs. Clinton blamed the sex allegations on a "a
vast right-wing conspiracy" against President
Bill Clinton.
7Conspiracism in History
- Pastoral to Horticultural Societies about
10,000 years ago. The emergence of social
inequality. - Agricultural Societies up to 5000 years ago.
Ancient Greece. - Industrial Societies up to 250 years ago.
Kings and dictators. - Postindustrial Societies today. i.e. North
Korea
8Conspiracism in History
9Collective Consciousness?
- Social currents largely at odds with the
cultural mainstream. - Radical counter-cultures or coincidences?
10Conspiracy Theory or Chance Ambiguity?
- African-American Community Tuskegee syphilis
experiments 1932 1972Human Beings as
Laboratory Animals - A survey of African-American church members found
that 35 believed AIDS was a form of genocide,
while 30 unsure. - Many see a parallel.
11Conspiracy Theory or Chance Ambiguity?
- Questions to ask
- Did several unrelated events occur that
coincidentally pointed to a final event? - With so many variables in this complex world, is
it even conceivable that there is a group of
individuals orchestrating entire events? - YES
12Conspiracism does exist.
- Why would people do this?
- To provide an outcome in their favor usually a
means to remain in power. - To obtain the emotional need for importance and
see them themselves as prophets (or God-like). - To leave their mark in history even if its not
to their credit.
13Psychological Effects
- The Harm
- Can generate a sense of helplessness
- Interpretations can feed the needs or prejudices
of many people, providing ample support for their
causes - i.e. Radical religious groups, endless supply of
suicide bombers, terrorist ideologies
14Study by Ted Goertzel1
- A survey of 348 residents of southwestern NJ
showed that most believed that several of a list
of ten conspiracy theories were at least probably
true. - Black Hispanic respondants were more likely to
believe in conspiracy theories than were white
respondants. - There were few significant correlations with
gender, educational level or occupational
category. - The more you know, the more you find out that
you dont know.
1. Rutgers University Sociology Professor,
Camden, NJ 1992
15Results of study
16Results of study
- Definitely True Probably True Probably
False Definitely False - Conspiracy 69 Lone Gunman 14
- 10 22 31 23
- 5 10 25 48
- 3 8 26 54
- 4 6 26 56
- 12 29 25 23
- 9 33 22 20
- 16 39 23 11
- 16 30 30 16
- 7 14 29 41
17Conclusions
- Results show belief in conspiracy theories mainly
with race, religion and social status. - Educational level and gender showed no
significant correlations. - No end in sight for conspiracism in America
- More research needed to understand this
phenomenon - The waning influence of traditional mores and
myths in modern culture may partially explain the
growth of Conspiracism. Thomas Adamo
18Conspiracism
- Conspiracy is in the mind of the beholder.