Why Do People Accept Absurd Conspiracies?

Conspiracy theories have been a constant hum in the background for at least the past 100 years, according to Prof Joe Uscinski, author of American Conspiracy. People can be prone to believe in conspiracy theories due to a combination of personality traits and motivations, including relying strongly on intuition, feeling a sense of antagonism, and superiority. New research suggests that events happening worldwide are nurturing underlying emotions that make people more willing to believe in conspiracies. In social psychology, the fascination with conspiracy theories and why people believe them has increased interest.

People may have psychological reasons that go from a need to control events that cause anxiety to having schizotypy. Belief in conspiracy theories can lead individuals to become disengaged from topics of social and political interest. Karen Douglas, PhD, a professor of social psychology at the University of Kent, discusses psychological research on how conspiracy theories start, why they persist, who is most likely to believe them, and whether conspiracy theories are based on a combination of personality traits and motivations.

Conspiration theories, often referred to as “Qanon”, are often based on the belief that the world is conspiring against the West. Personality traits of conspiracy theorists have been examined mostly in Westernized, educated, and Westernized societies. While some may not believe in conspiracy theories, they could still fall down the rabbit hole.