Ep. 209 - The Doctor Is In Series - The TRUTH Behind Conspiracy Theories
The Social-Engineer Podcast
The Importance of Quality Data
The point of any theory is not to prove it right. Once you have a scientific theory, what you want to do is prove it wrong because you now want to test every alternative. If the conspiracy theory can't be proven wrong, that's a huge red flag. Look for information that proves it wrong. And we hate doing that because it's so uncomfortable. But if we really want to avoid getting into these conspiracy theories and think more critically, question everything, always look for a contradictory answer.
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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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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