Conspiracy theories arise for several psychological and social reasons. Some believe in conspiracies as a way to understand complex events and deal with feelings of powerlessness, though they often rely on poor logic. While conspiracies can foster inquiry and accountability, they can also create social discord and diminish faith in government by diverting attention from real issues.

1. Why Conspiracies?

2. Conspiracy
• agreement to perform together an
illegal, wrongful or subversive act
• example: Sept. 11th
-25% of Americans believe US
knew about/participated/did nothing
-80% Muslim nations believe US/Israel
behind it
Occam’s Razor
• scientific theory (chemical/physical)
• simplest theory is best
• social application (conscious beings)
-can add complexity
-can behave irrationally

3. Why Dismissed
• relies on poor, unproven & circular reasoning
-false logic
• believers are delusional, powerless &
disadvantaged
• plays on people’s need for certainty
-increases when info is wrong,
distorted or ambiguous
• need to explain big & important events with
proportionately big & important causes
-emotional nature of events
-emotional response

4. However…
• rational attempt to understand complex
phenomena & deal with feelings of
powerlessness
-rational considering available info
• those proven true seem to change category
-Watergate, Iran-Contra, etc.
Consider
• Third Person Effect
-i.e. others are impacted more by
media coverage than ourselves
• we externalize causes
-I cut someone off – I’m distracted
-someone cuts me off – they’re a jerk

5. Conspiracies are Good
• correlates to democracy
-invites inquiry not allowed in
totalitarian gov’ts
• can reveal problems in the system
• addresses credibility of gov’t
-accountability
• can foster social movements for change

6. Conspiracies are Bad
• creates social discord
-can lead to violence & mistrust
• diminished faith in gov’t
• diverts attention from real issues
• fosters extremist subcultures