The psychology of conspiracy theories

Why do some people believe unproven and implausible conspiracy theories? What’s the harm if they do? And just what is a conspiracy theory, anyway? Rob Brotherton provides a psychological perspective on the peculiar phenomenon of conspiracy theorising. The talk will offer a definition of the tricky-to-define term ‘conspiracy theory’, discuss the consequences of widespread belief in conspiracies, and present psychological research which begins to reveal the allure of conspiracy theories. Of particular interest is research concerning the role of cognitive biases and heuristics – quirks in the way we all think – which suggests that our brains might be wired to detect conspiracies, even where none exist. It seems we’re all intuitive conspiracy theorists – some of us just hide it better than others.

Rob completed a PhD in the psychology of conspiracy theories at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he now works as a lecturer. His research primarily concerns the measurement and cognitive correlates of conspiracist ideation, and reasoning biases more generally. Rob is Assistant Editor of The Skeptic (www.skeptic.org.uk), and writes about the psychology of conspiracy theories at www.ConspiracyPsych.com. Or at least that’s what he would like you to believe.