quote:

People are also more likely to believe in conspiracy theories if they feel powerless in the face of large social authorities or institutions, and not part of the mainstream of society.

This is supported by the observation in the USA that beliefs in conspiracy theories tend to be stronger amongst members of ethnic minority groups.

Sociologists suggest that these minority groups feel politically disenfranchised or discriminated against and this gives rise to higher levels of belief in conspiracy theories.


The psychology of conspiracy
By Dr Patrick Leman
Psychologist, Royal Holloway University of London

quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961

quote:

People are also more likely to believe in conspiracy theories if they feel powerless in the face of large social authorities or institutions, and not part of the mainstream of society.

This is supported by the observation in the USA that beliefs in conspiracy theories tend to be stronger amongst members of ethnic minority groups.

Sociologists suggest that these minority groups feel politically disenfranchised or discriminated against and this gives rise to higher levels of belief in conspiracy theories.


The psychology of conspiracy
By Dr Patrick Leman
Psychologist, Royal Holloway University of London

Considering some of the posters, this bit of information is striking.

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ORIGINAL: jlf1961

No, dubya, as you call him was a flat out liar.

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ORIGINAL: vincentML

The result of these studies seem so obvious I have to wonder if the methodology was not self-fulfilling. I'm sorry jlf, I just do not see much new or unexpected in the conclusions drawn by the studies mentioned in the OP. Not to say it is not an interesting topic.

Hey maybe it is healthy that people are skeptical of received wisdom from Authority. There seem to be a number of things that have not panned out after all. Swine Flu and N1H1 pandemics come to mind. Another is wmd in Iraq. But there is a difference between questioning competence and believing that everything done by Authority is a dark plot. Well, maybe wmd was a dark plot.

I applaud selective skepticism where a case can be made. I am wary of people who keep replaying the same old refrain. Jousting with them on these Boards may be good for a few giggles but as someone mentioned above it would be better if they were simply ignored.

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ORIGINAL: Dubbelganger

Well, the WMD in Eye-rak thing was deception to achieve a goal. We may never know the true motive behind the Neocons' attempt to establush a regulation-free "free market" nation.

H1N1 was just a case of being wrong. Based on empirical data, it was reasonable to expect that there would be a Pandemic. That it didn't happen is a damn good thing, even if fatalities were underreported.

Regarding your first sentence of the "obviousness" of it all, I agree. But that's not the point of doing such studies. It was obvious in 1400CE that the Earth was the center of the universe. There was no actual evidence to show that that belief was correct. Further research (Galileo's telescope, now in the DeutschesMuseen in Munich) helped prove that belief wrong. Studies like the one cited by jlf help prove that the obvious is, indeed, correct. That is the utility of such studies; confirmation of hypotheses.

It IS healthy, IMO, to question "received wisdom". But to continually question what has been conclusively shown to be factual is a hallmark of mental instability.

quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dubbelganger

Well, the WMD in Eye-rak thing was deception to achieve a goal. We may never know the true motive behind the Neocons' attempt to establush a regulation-free "free market" nation.

H1N1 was just a case of being wrong. Based on empirical data, it was reasonable to expect that there would be a Pandemic. That it didn't happen is a damn good thing, even if fatalities were underreported.

Regarding your first sentence of the "obviousness" of it all, I agree. But that's not the point of doing such studies. It was obvious in 1400CE that the Earth was the center of the universe. There was no actual evidence to show that that belief was correct. Further research (Galileo's telescope, now in the DeutschesMuseen in Munich) helped prove that belief wrong. Studies like the one cited by jlf help prove that the obvious is, indeed, correct. That is the utility of such studies; confirmation of hypotheses.

It IS healthy, IMO, to question "received wisdom". But to continually question what has been conclusively shown to be factual is a hallmark of mental instability.

The only problem is that with conspiracy theorists, you could hit them between the eyes with proof and they wont believe you.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dubbelganger
Regarding your first sentence of the "obviousness" of it all, I agree. But that's not the point of doing such studies. It was obvious in 1400CE that the Earth was the center of the universe. There was no actual evidence to show that that belief was correct. Further research (Galileo's telescope, now in the DeutschesMuseen in Munich) helped prove that belief wrong.

quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961
Humanistic psychologists argue that even if the cabal behind the conspiracy is almost always perceived as hostile there is, often, still an element of reassurance in it, for conspiracy theorists, in part because it is more consoling to think that complications and upheavals in human affairs, at least, are created by human beings rather than factors beyond human control. Belief in such a cabal is a device for reassuring oneself that certain occurrences are not random, but ordered by a human intelligence. This renders such occurrences comprehensible and potentially controllable. If a cabal can be implicated in a sequence of events, there is always the hope, however tenuous, of being able to break the cabal's power - or joining it and exercising some of that power oneself. Finally, belief in the power of such a cabal is an implicit assertion of human dignity - an often unconscious but necessary affirmation that man is not totally helpless, but is responsible, at least in some measure, for his own destiny