Ep. 209 - The Doctor Is In Series - The TRUTH Behind Conspiracy Theories
The Social-Engineer Podcast
The Importance of Emotional Support
Not everyone who believes in a conspiracy theory can just be labeled as crazy. The fact that the earth is flat just blows my mind, right? You know, or nanobots or things like that. Sometimes it is really toxic to be around that person. If it is just those cognitive reasons because it can be very dangerous to get into that thinking but sometimes that person needs help.
Welcome to the Social-Engineer Podcast: The Doctor Is In Series – where we will discuss understandings and developments in the field of psychology.
In today’s episode, Chris and Abbie are discussing: Conspiracy theories. They will talk about what makes a Conspiracy Theory and why we believe them. [May 1, 2023]
00:00 - Intro
00:17 - Dr. Abbie Maroño Intro
00:59 - Intro Links
- Social-Engineer.com - http://www.social-engineer.com/
- Managed Voice Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/vishing-service/
- Managed Email Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/se-phishing-service/
- Adversarial Simulations - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/social-engineering-penetration-test/
- Social-Engineer channel on SLACK - https://social-engineering-hq.slack.com/ssb
- CLUTCH - http://www.pro-rock.com/
- innocentlivesfoundation.org - http://www.innocentlivesfoundation.org/
04:45 - The Topic of the Day: The TRUTH Behind Conspiracy Theories
05:54 - What is a Conspiracy Theory?
07:39 - What's the harm?
10:20 - WHY???
11:17 - Pattern Seekers
13:15 - Cognitive Closure
17:04 - The Role of Critical Thinking
19:18 - An Existential Element
20:41 - Don't Forget the Lizards!
22:35 - What about Bigfoot?
24:30 - Escapism
30:15 - Reading the Emotions
32:29 - Social Motive
33:31 - Emotions vs Critical Thinking
36:42 - Prove Me Wrong!
39:09 - The Takeaway: Empathy
40:57 - Wrap Up & Outro
- www.innocentlivesfoundation.org
Find us online:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/abbiejmarono
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dr-abbie-maroño-phd-35ab2611a
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/humanhacker
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christopherhadnagy
References:
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Bost, P. R., & Prunier, S. G. (2013). Rationality in conspiracy beliefs: The role of perceived motive. Psychological Reports, 113, 118–128
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Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., Callan, M. J., Dawtry, R. J., & Harvey, A. J. (2016). Someone is pulling the strings: Hypersensitive agency detection and belief in conspiracy theories. Thinking & Reasoning, 22, 57–77.
Douglas, K. M., Uscinski, J. E., Sutton, R. M., Cichocka, A., Nefes, T., Ang, C. S., & Deravi, F. (2019). Understanding conspiracy theories. Political psychology, 40, 3-35.
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Klein, C., Clutton, P., & Dunn, A. G. (2018). Pathways to conspiracy: The social and linguistic precursors of involvement in Reddit’s conspiracy theory forum. Retrieved frompsyarxiv.com/8vesf
Nefes, T. S. (2017). The impacts of the Turkish Government’s “interest rate lobby” theory about the Gezi Park Protests. Social Movement Studies, 16(5), 610–622. https://doi.org/10.1080/14742837.2017.1319269
Nera, K., Pantazi, M., & Klein, O. (2018). “These are just stories, Mulder”: Exposure to conspiracist fiction does not produce narrative persuasion. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00684
Swift, A. (2013). Majority in U.S. still believe JFK killed in a conspiracy. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/ poll/165893/majority-believe-jfk-killed-conspiracy.aspx
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Uscinski, J. E., Klofstad, C., & Atkinson, M. D. (2016). What drives conspiratorial beliefs? The role of informational cues and predispositions. Political Research Quarterly, 69, 57–71.
van Prooijen, J.-W., & Acker, M. (2015). The influence of control on belief in conspiracy theories: Conceptual and applied extensions. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 29, 753–761.
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