Why Do Some People Think Conspiracy Theories Are True?

Conspiracy theories can be categorized into three main reasons: the desire for understanding and certainty, the desire for control, and a combination of personality traits and motivations. People are prone to believe in conspiracy theories due to a combination of these factors, including relying heavily on intuition, feeling antagonism, and superiority.

Confirmation bias is the most pervasive cognitive bias and a powerful driver of belief in conspiracies. People have a natural inclination to give more weight to evidence that supports their beliefs. In January, a Wisconsin pharmacist was charged with deliberately destroying hundreds of doses of the Covid-19 vaccine because he believed a conspiracy theory.

People believe in conspiracy theories for various reasons, such as explaining random events, feeling special or unique, or for a sense of social belonging. These theories can threaten our safety and democracy, and specific emotions make people prone to such thinking. The approach to patients with conspiracy beliefs should be similar to dealing with psychotic disorders.

Psychological research on conspiracy theories has shown that they spread and persist, with the most common theory being that it is psychologically uncomfortable to live in a world where bad things just happen. Rational arguments and myth busting may not change the mind of a conspiracy theorist, but there are other ways to change their mind. A landmark study has mapped the psychological landscape that shapes our susceptibility to conspiracy theories, revealing the psychological factors that contribute to conspiracy beliefs.