Defining and Explaining Conspiracy Theories

Conspiracy Theories: Why Do We Believe Them?

One of the defining traits of every conspiracy is the presence of a big bad. No matter what the conspiracy claims, they'll likely place the ...

People do change their beliefs about conspiracy theories—but not ...

Recent research has produced a significant body of knowledge about the antecedents and consequences of individual differences in belief in ...

The enduring appeal of conspiracy theories - BBC

“They help people explain or justify their anxieties." Whether or not it works is another matter. The current evidence at least, suggests it ...

Who Is Likely to Believe in Conspiracy Theories? - McGill University

Conspiracy theorists tend to believe the world is dangerous and that life is a violent struggle in which others pose a threat. This is not only ...

FF #473 Responding to Medical Conspiracy Theories

Background: Dictionaries define conspiracy theories as explaining an event or set of circumstances as a result of a secret plot, ...

Belief in Conspiracy Theories - jstor

factor explained 32.5% of the variance; for the black alone it explained 3 ... (defined as white= 1, hispanic=2, black=3) and with black race as a dummy.

Of conspiracy theories. - Brian Keeley - PhilPapers

There is no a priori method for distinguishing warranted conspiracy theories (say, those explaining Watergate) from those which are unwarranted (say, theories ...

Running Head: Lay Representations of Conspiracy Theories - OSF

(2019) proposed that CTs may be defined as “attempts to explain the ultimate causes of significant social and political events and circumstances with claims of ...

When inferring to a conspiracy might be the best explanation

This definition – being perfectly general – does not build in that belief in conspiracy theories is irrational, and thus the philosophical debate has shifted to.

QAnon: A Modern Conspiracy Theory and the Assessment of Its ...

Finally, the definition of extreme overvalued belief is so broad that it potentially can include conspiracy theories, religious or cult beliefs, ...

Defining and Explaining Conspiracy Theories: Comparing the Lay ...

To investigate lay representations of CTs, we mobilise social representation theory (SRT; Moscovici, 1961). How Social Scientists Define Conspiracy Theories. In ...

What Does It Mean for a Conspiracy Theory to Be a 'Theory'?

In response, particularists object that defining conspiracy theories as false or unwarranted explanations citing conspiracies as causal factors ...

“It's cultural to believe in conspiracy theories” - Horizons

Conspiracy theorists enter a counter-culture whose codes they must learn; they must acquire the right reflexes in order to respond to any ...

(PDF) What Are Conspiracy Theories? A Definitional Approach to ...

Conspiracy theories are abundant in social and political discourse, with serious consequences for individuals, groups, and societies.

CONSPIRACYTHEORIES IN THE PATRIOT/MILITIA MOVEMENT

Basic Features of Conspiracy. Theories. Conspiracy theories are attempts to explain events by identifying a group of actors working in secret to benefit ...

Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational - Michael Shermer

“I enjoyed reading this book tremendously. Seeking to debunk some common yet irrational conspiracy theories, Shermer explains what drives people's belief in ...

Conspiracy theories as narratives - Uni Münster

This statement may seem banal, but it does explain, at least tentatively, that conspiracy narratives, as actions, define identities. As soon as the analysis of ...

Believe It or Not – No Support for an Effect of Providing Explanatory ...

In two experimental studies (N = 293), we examined whether conspiracy theories that explicitly offer a broad explanation for the respective phenomena and/or ...

News Literacy Guide: Conspiracy Theories

Conspiracy theory definition · noun · a theory that rejects the standard explanation for an event and instead credits a covert group or ...

The Role of Need for Uniqueness in Belief in Conspiracy Theories

We found that the tendency to believe in conspiracy theories was associated with the feeling of possessing scarce information about the situations explained by ...