Introduction

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:

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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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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

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