The Reasons Most Conspiracies Are False?

Conspiracy theories have been a constant occurrence for at least the past 100 years, with many people’s actions guided by their beliefs rather than explicit beliefs. While belief in conspiracies isn’t inherently dangerous or wrong, psychologists argue that they can be based on a solid foundation of disbelief. Conspiracy theories can range from alien lizard rulers to shark attacks instigated by spies and elaborate multi-billion-dollar hoaxes.

Psychological research on conspiracy theories has shown that they often incorporate elements from pseudoscience, such as employing scientific terms or referring to data, research, and sources. Belief in conspiracy theories is often taken to be a paradigm of epistemic irrationality, but there is a running debate among philosophers, psychologists, and others. A new review finds that only some methods to counteract conspiracy beliefs are effective.

A rapidly growing body of research demonstrates that conspiratorial ideation is related to less accuracy, more overconfidence, and more reliance on intuition. Most Americans believe conspiracy theories of some sort, and research has shown that most Americans believe them. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the growth of conspiracy theories, and research has shown that they can be dangerous and require identification, debunking, and countering.

Conspiration theories, and the errors of inductive reasoning they exemplify, should be of interest to all of us, as they can lead to dangerous outcomes if proven incorrect. It’s not true that conspiracy theorists commonly believe contradictory conspiracies, such as the claim that Diana, Princess of Wales, did not die in a car accident.