Conspiracy Theorists Just Want to be Special?

interesting article summarizing the findings of two different psychological studies:

Study 1:

The researchers found that people who supported conspiracy theories were more likely to think they had information no one else had.

They also found that those who wanted to be more unique were also more likely to believe a particular theory. The same was true for people that were encouraged to be unique.

“These studies suggest that conspiracy theories may serve people’s desire to be unique, highlighting a motivational underpinning of conspiracy belief,” the team, led by Anthony Lantian from Grenoble Alps University in France, said in their paper.

Study 2:

...[P]eople who wanted to be unique were more likely to believe and endorse conspiracy theories. They also found that a conspiracy theory that was made up received more support when participants were told only a minority of people believed it.

this seems like it could be true to me.... altho i'm curious why neither study picked up on a distrust of authority as another common marker?

or maybe... it's a conspiracy among psychologists to discredit conspiracy theorists?

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN

People Who Believe Conspiracy Theories Just Want To Be Unique, Say Psychologists

a reply to: fiverx313

I also read in a text that people use conspiracy theories to help cope with a trauma or situation they don't immediately understand or accept- they're just looking for explanations and answers... like how 911 was the catalyst for lots of people to go conspiracy theory.

But yeah, all that other stuff is probably true too.

I JUST WANT TO BE SPECIAL AND UNIQUE GUYZ.

a reply to: geezlouise

i think that's a pretty common and understandable motivation, really --wanting to stand out from the herd. i've definitely had those moments in life where i thought i was on the cutting edge, lol

but the trauma angle is also understandable, i hadn't thought of that before. maybe that has something to do with the rise in conspiracy theories these days, trying to make sense of an extremely troubling world :/

originally posted by: fiverx313
interesting article summarizing the findings of two different psychological studies:

Study 1:
The researchers found that people who supported conspiracy theories were more likely to think they had information no one else had.

That's a strange assessment ,
Conspiracy theory depends on at least someone having information about something in the first place, and in the second place, CT needs a plethora of persons to consolidate what might otherwise be just random situations or anomalies into something that does, or might have construct. WTC7 is a classic case of that.

a reply to: fiverx313

Experiences involving UFO's got me interested. Felling "unique" had nothing to do with it. The fact the conversations are so interesting has more to do with it, although I suppose for some what that says is true. I think they paint with too broad a brush.

a reply to: fiverx313

Based on this conclusion I'm lead to the question of wether or not the control group, the non CT, are more likely to feel a need to conform? I think that'd be an understandable distinction.

originally posted by: Blaine91555
a reply to: fiverx313

Experiences involving UFO's got me interested. Felling "unique" had nothing to do with it. The fact the conversations are so interesting has more to do with it, although I suppose for some what that says is true. I think they paint with too broad a brush.

Agreed, it actually rolls like a conspiracy theory about...conspiracy theorys...not the theorists.


Here's the paper anyway, Starts off, "I know things they don't know"

www.academia.edu...

a reply to: fiverx313

*sigh*

Don't we all though.

Including these jokers. What they lack is the self awareness to realize though is that they aren't that special either, and they really, REALLY think they are. There are more than enough angry, crazy shrinks though. They're rather the majority in the profession actually.

a reply to: fiverx313

I'm curious about how that lines up with conservative ideology being so attracted to the role of conspiracy theorist. I wonder if it's because that side of the fence is more likely to despise demographics that are counter-norm (sexual orientations, music, body art, etc) because they, themselves, want to be unique?

a reply to: fiverx313

Yep yep yep.

And I think part of what makes the world so troubling has something to do with how un-special we are made to feel. Lol.

So it's a bit of a loop we're all trapped in.

Like the fact that we all feel so devalued, worthless. And as we age it gets worse like so many people struggle with feeling like... idk, like "it's too late" now to make a difference. We all have these rigid ideas about what our lives were supposed to be like, which we had been force-fed since we were babes, and if we aren't able to bend them then we will break. Because often times we aren't living up to those rigid standers, and can't.

And then just consider about how in our old age we become like obsolete objects being tossed aside... viewed as a nuisance almost. Not celebrated. Like the time has passed for contributing to society and we have nothing left to give. And that's all so super evil to me (and I whole-heartedly disagree with those notions)... but then it makes sense if it all might inspire the "I am so unique" delusions because of how un-special we all feel.

a reply to: fiverx313

Want to be unique?

God forbid, remember we should all conform and ask no questions, the system works just fine. Leave it alone and get back to work.

a reply to: Blaine91555

I agree with your statements. Take myself, I avidly promote UFOs, abductions, triangles, psychic phenomena, and out-of-the-box thinking on ATS. Is that because i feel that I'm special? No, not exactly, but my experiences in those areas give me ample license to promote them when the rest of the herd have no such experiences or can't even think out of the box.

So "studies" are done to explain from their view point of mediocrity why we are outliers. Well, I'm old, 79, and i don't give a crap anymore what people think about what I say on ATS. I do have concerns that on ATS, of all places, that dogma, rules. If I can make a joke on that, it is a perfect collar for slaves.

(You ever tend to wonder who promotes that narrow-minded mentality of such studies or that they have an agenda?

Just sounds like statist gobbledygook to me. Shrug.

originally posted by: fiverx313
Study 1: The researchers found that people who supported conspiracy theories were more likely to think they had information no one else had.

Study 2: [P]eople who wanted to be unique were more likely to believe and endorse conspiracy theories. They also found that a conspiracy theory that was made up received more support when participants were told only a minority of people believed it.

So people who support conspiracy theories (whatever that means) are both more likely to think they have unique information and also more likely to support conspiracy theories if they believe other people already have information?

Isn't this sort of like what we used to call, you know, "having things in common with other people and joining groups that reflect your individual interests in order to make a personal contribution"?

Seems to me that the research has been "framed" by pre-existing notions of 'conspiracy theorist' as some kind of psychiatric diagnosis, and the dynamics have been pathologised to fit.

A load of old cock, if you ask me. Dressing up something totally unremarkable as a penetrating insight. Probably in order to gain that all-important news coverage that will form a part of your portfolio when submitting your next research grant.

A decade or two ago, I used to joke with a housemate that "Everyone secretly wants to join the illuminati". It's true - every field, bar none, has its semi-mythical elites. From gaining acceptance as a 'regular' at a favourite bar, to getting their name in the high-score tables of a video game, to entering the Freemasons, to joining the ranks of the Nobel Laureates, you name it.

Everyone wants in on the elite that matters to them, and everyone polishes their credentials for the moment they need to present them to gain admittance.

I tend to draw a distinction between people who suspect a conspiracy theory or two might have merit and others who tend to view all of reality as a giant snowball of conspiracy theory, where absolutely nothing can be taken at face value.

The former may just have an interest in a particular topic.

The latter are psychologically unbalanced, IMO.

originally posted by: seasonal
a reply to: fiverx313

Want to be unique?

God forbid, remember we should all conform and ask no questions, the system works just fine. Leave it alone and get back to work.

By "unique," I assume they mean people who think they are a precious snowflake rather than adopting Tyler Durden's take on the self.

a reply to: Dudemo5

I guess Tyler Durden could be representative of the truth/reality that hurts too much, so people bury it/dissociate from it/deny it's existence. He represents the truth that nothing really matters perhaps, not even individualism/being special, in the grand scheme of things. And how believing we are special precious snowflakes going to heaven after death is just a coping mechanism in the face of the cold reality of nothingness.

Idk though.

What is Tyler Durden's take on the self?

originally posted by: Dudemo5
I tend to draw a distinction between people who suspect a conspiracy theory or two might have merit and others who tend to view all of reality as a giant snowball of conspiracy theory, where absolutely nothing can be taken at face value.

The former may just have an interest in a particular topic.

The latter are psychologically unbalanced, IMO.

Yeah, the "Grand Unified Conspiracy Theory Of Everything." I suppose it's actually comforting to believe that the world is being run by someone or some group, compared to the idea that all this # happens every day because no-one has figured out how to do it any better!

originally posted by: geezlouise

What is Tyler Durden's take on the self?

“You are not special. You're not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else. We're all part of the same compost heap. We're the all singing, all dancing crap of the world.”

--Tyler Durden