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.social-engineer.com
- 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:
Abalakina-Paap, M., Stephan, W. G., Craig, T., & Gregory, L. (1999). Beliefs in conspiracies. Political Psychology, 20, 637–647.
Adams, G., O’Brien, L. T., & Nelson, J. C. (2006). Perceptions of racism in Hurricane Katrina: A liberation psychology analysis. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 6, 215–235.
Bilewicz, M., Winiewski, M., Kofta, M., & Wójcik, A. (2013). Harmful ideas: The structure and consequences of antiSemitic beliefs in Poland. Political Psychology, 34, 821–839.
Bost, P. R., & Prunier, S. G. (2013). Rationality in conspiracy beliefs: The role of perceived motive. Psychological Reports, 113, 118–128
Crocker, J., Luhtanen, R., Broadnax, S., & Blaine, B. E. (1999). Belief in U.S. government conspiracies against Blacks among Black and White college students: Powerlessness or system blame? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 941–953.
Dieguez, S., Wagner-Egger, P., & Gauvrit, N. (2015). Nothing happens by accident, or does it? A low prior for randomness does not explain belief in conspiracy theories. Psychological Science, 26, 1762–1770.
Dieguez, S., Wagner-Egger, P., & Gauvrit, N. (2015). Nothing happens by accident, or does it? A low prior for randomness does not explain belief in conspiracy theories. Psychological Science, 26(11), 1762–1770. https://doi. org/10.1177/0956797615598740
DiFonzo, N., Bordia, P., & Rosnow, R. L. (1994). Reining in rumors. Organizational Dynamics, 23(1), 47–62. https://doi. org/10.1016/0090-2616(94)90087-6
Douglas, K. M., & Leite, A. C. (2017). Suspicion in the workplace: Organizational conspiracy theories and workrelated outcomes. British Journal of Psychology, 108, 486–506.
Douglas, K. M., & Sutton, R. M. (2008). The hidden impact of conspiracy theories: Perceived and actual impact of theories surrounding the death of Princess Diana. Journal of Social Psychology, 148, 210–221.
Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., & Cichocka, A. (2017). The psychology of conspiracy theories. Current directions in psychological science, 26(6), 538-542.
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.
Keeley, B. L. (1999). Of conspiracy theories. The journal of Philosophy, 96(3), 109-126.
Kim, M., & Cao, X. (2016). The impact of exposure to media messages promoting government conspiracy theories on distrust in the government: Evidence from a two-stage randomized experiment. International Journal of Communication, 10(2016), 3808–3827. Retrieved from http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/5127
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
Tetlock, P. E. (2002). Social-functionalist frameworks for judgment and choice: The intuitive politician, theologian, and prosecutor. Psychological Review, 109, 451–472.
Uscinski, J. E., & Parent, J. M. (2014). American conspiracy theories. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
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.
van Prooijen, J.-W., & Jostmann, N. B. (2013). Belief in conspiracy theories: The influence of uncertainty and perceived morality. European Journal of Social Psychology, 43, 109–115.
Whitson, J. A., & Galinsky, A. D. (2008). Lacking control increases illusory pattern perception. Science, 322, 115–117.
