We’ve all heard of conspiracy theories. Whether we listen to them because we believe them or listen to them for fun and out of curiosity, conspiracy theories are often brewed from real-life scenarios. Most of us get baffled by conspiracy theories. Don’t get me wrong; they aren’t just like discovering the widely held beliefs by Scott Rahn is more believable and nuanced. Most of the time, they are more extreme and, to a point, unbelievably believable.
What are Conspiracy Theories?
Conspiracy theories are often called a more “paranoid way of thinking.” Most of the time, these narratives emerge from narratives of clandestine, malevolent groups of influential people who secretly orchestrate events to achieve a sinister goal. Most of the time, they significantly affect social and political events, and usually, the group is said to benefit from it somehow.
However, contrary to common beliefs, believing in conspiracy theories does not mean that you are stupid or have a wrong mindset. Over 50% of Americans believe in at least one conspiracy theory – whether it’s that the moon landing never happened, the 9/11 conspiracy, John F. Kennedy’s Assassination, and the like.
When Did Conspiracy Theories Start?
Many say that social media fuels conspiracy theories. Because of the easy influence of people online, many believe that this makes it easy to spread fake news or conspiracy theories. However, according to psychologists, this belief is false.
Conspiracy theories often thrive during times of crisis and social upheaval. There are many conspiracy theories regarding the burning of Rome when Nero was away, which happened long before the internet or social media ever existed. Following that line of thought, it is easy to understand why people nowadays believe in conspiracy theories regarding vaccines and that they aren’t safe and conspiracy theories about the US presidential election during election season.
To What Extent Do People Believe In Conspiracy Theories?
When talking about conspiracy theories, most of the time, people think that you either believe all of it or none of it. For example, you are either an anti-vaxxer or willing to get vaccinated. However, it is not always an all-or-nothing scenario when thinking of conspiracy theories. Most of the time, you only believe in conspiracy theories to a certain degree, and only a minority of the population fully believe in all allegations of a conspiracy theory.
To make this easier to understand, think of it as a scale. When you read a conspiracy theory, you would often ask how much you would believe a particular statement and if you were to take specific actions based on that conspiracy theory alone. Thinking about how plausible it makes you think of the extent to which you believe in such statements. For example, in terms of the vaccine, you may believe in them so much that you become an anti-vaxxer, or you do believe in the conspiracy theory but not to the extent that you would become an anti-vaxxer.
Why Are People Drawn To Conspiracy Theories?
According to psychology, three main reasons or motives lead people to believe in conspiracy theories that make people want to believe them.
The first is epistemic motives. Epistemic motives refer to the need for knowledge and certainty in something. This refers to a person’s desire to have information regarding a particular event or situation.
Because of that, when a crisis occurs, many conspiracy theories often emerge because people want an explanation for what happened and feel confident of that truth, which is why many do not believe in the conventional pathways like doctors regarding vaccines but believe in other less reliable sources. So, in short, they look for “something believable” to them, which would often depend on age, maturity, and education.
The second motive is an existential motive which is just the need of people to feel safe and secure. It is also related to people’s need to feel like they have power and autonomy over things, not feel powerless. To some extent, conspiracy theories often give people the illusion that they can control which information to believe in. Research has shown that powerless people often gravitate more towards conspiracy theories.
Lastly, we have social motives, which means the desire of people to feel good about themselves and to feel good about themselves in terms of the group or class they belong to. Conspiracy theories often give people the feeling of exclusivity – that you have access to information that others do not have. Because of it, they feel like they know better than others and possess a truth others do not have, leading to a feeling of superiority and uniqueness. Check out The Book of It by Scott Rahn.
