The type of person most likely to believe conspiracy theories

www.rawstory.com...

from ....

time.com...

Conspiracy theories have probably been around as long as man has had something to conspire about. What is Stonehenge and why was it really built? Do aliens exist? Who really shot JFK? Conspiracy theories are innately interesting, which is why many people will talk about them even if they don’t believe in them. But what about those who do believe in them? While there are probably many reasons to believe, a pair of new studies shed light on how they’re helping people gain a sense of control over their lives.

Interesting....

Van Prooijen and his team found that when a person feels like they’re in control, they’re less likely to believe in conspiracy theories. For the study, they took 119 people and split them into two groups. The first group was told to write about a time when they felt fully in control, while the second group was told to write about a time when they didn’t feel in control.

I don't think this is a large enough sampling to make any-kind of conclusion. However from reading ATS for a few years this study might have some validity.

But from my experience...there is plenty of evidence that points to conspiricy...everything from 911 to sandy hook.

Never mind!

a reply to: olaru12

Flighty conclusion the guy came to in my opinion.

Most of the Theorists I enjoy hanging out with and comparing notes on are either interested in mysteries and the unexplained....and finding logical approaches to explaining the explainable. Or else, just knocking back a few beers on the porch and night and swapping wild tales. But then again, those of us dealing with inexplicable situations beyond our control trying to figure out what the hell is going wrong with the world....yeah, I suppose I can see his point.

Poor me.
I have no control.
I must be delusional and out of my mind.
Don't listen to the human beings, instead worship the automated stock lifestyle.
Don't think.
Obey. Consume. Marry and Reproduce.

Clever little trick he pulled there trying to throw us all under the bus, eh?

The person who wrote this article
must believe
that people come in "Types".

That makes them a "type-ist".

See. I can name call too. But does it lead to a solution?

The solution implied by the article ... is .... is nonexistent. Should we _all_ be in control. Should we _all_ accept control. Should we _all_ shame ourselves into not asking for verifiable facts? The article doesn't say.


Mike Grouchy

a reply to: olaru12

This study was obviously funded by the NSA, DHS, and most likely proposed by NASA.

a reply to: mikegrouchy

Not my type.

well conspiracy theories are born from unanswered questions.
if questions were answered, there would be no need to look elsewhere.
so it makes sense that one reason they exist is so people can feel like they know what is going on.
"Do your own research" is a common motto in places like ATS, and that translates to "i created my own truth and you should do the same"

That does not man conspiracies don't exist, they certainly do, the issue is that EVERYTHING becomes a conspiracy, too many people are not educated enough or WANT this stuff to be true for some reason
Remember all those stupid ebola threads?
And don't anyone tell me "that was different" because it was simply not.

In all fairness some people are just more curious than others,some people like to understand how things works,peoples brains are all wired so differently .....I like to speculate and the OS stories we get fed do not always fill me with confidence...

I don't know this just seems like another labeling attempt...oh those silly people who do not believe everything they are told there must be something wrong with them and are clearly delusional,and their lives are out of control so they invent silly theories to make up for their crappy lives,yada yada yada

a reply to: GENERAL EYES
I had a read. Agree the media Time article kind of presents it as more mind blowing than it is!

There are a couple of (reinforced) findings from it. One is, to paraphrase, during difficult / uncertain times people popularize or move towards conspiracy theories as a way of making sense of events. In of itself, this isn't a big deal, we see this anytime something huge happens. People try to make sense of it - many of the people attempting to do so are wrong. Not surprising.

The other result are from a priming recall exercise. Basic summary:

1. You read a news article about a railway / metro tunnel that was built that inadvertantly sunk people's homes
2. You recall a time where you were in control or not in control depending which study group you're in (they also had a third 'neutral' group recalling what they had for dinner last night)
3. You fill out a recall questionaire testing your interpretation of the newspaper article rating your answers between 1 (strongly disagree) and 5 (strongly agree)

The people primed to consider a time they were not in control were more likely to more strongly agree with conspiracy related statements. This demonstrates a connection with control and conspiracy theorizing and potentially trust. When recalling certain events you're perhaps less likely to trust people. Keep in mind though the choices are between 1 to 5, not yes and no. Ticking agree strongly may not be that big a deal compared to agree but it would be statistically significant over several questions.

A way of reading this relationship could be ... if you believe in a lot of 'conspiracy theories' you may likely not feel in control in general. Predictably someone who feels in control probably doesn't pay heed to such concepts because whatever system they're a part of or potentially ignoring is directly benefiting them or at least not threatening them. It's bi-directional.

The association is that 'societal threats to control' are associated with a 'generally suspicious, conspiratorial mindeset.'
You could just as easily state that people who feel in control within their environment are less likely to look for or entertain the idea of threats.

When it's put like that it's not really as mind blowing.

why am i not surprsised that the ATS population is offended by being labeled as " conspiracy theorists "

yet flings around blatant generalisations of " type " every day :

one percenters

bankers

shills

masons

illuminati

etc etc etc

The problem with this study is it doesn't really look at conspiracy theories. Because there are many conspiracy theories that are "official stories" or have become widely accepted by historians. Such as the 9/11 official story, the theory that the Nazi's started the Reichstag fire, the sinking of the Maine, the Gulf of Tonkin Incident and so on.

If someone had a tendency to believe conspiracies they would also be more likely to believe official stories that are conspiracy based. These studies don't examine this at all.

In fact, what they're looking at isn't people believe in conspiracies but rather those who question official stories and rushes to judgment.

Of course, it's much harder to pigeonhole such people. So they don't use that terminology. They stick with the epithet "conspiracy theorist". Easy to move from that label to calling them out of control nutters.

These studies are geared at the mainstream. And they designed to make people afraid of questioning their leaders for fear being viewed as "out of control".

Good propaganda. Bad science.

I generally feel "in control" and I believe certain conspiracies. You know, typically the ones involving government and Geo-politics.

There is also certainly a conspiracy regarding aliens and UFO's, and the # birds (read: Aviary) likely responsible for the dissemination of said bird #....hence their name. Whatever the underlying truth clearly has nothing to actually do with aliens in saucers. Best I can tell they are hiding two sensational truths behind the alien meme. 1.) advanced black projects. 2.) the true nature of our past.

originally posted by: ignorant_ape
why am i not surprsised that the ATS population is offended by being labeled as " conspiracy theorists "

yet flings around blatant generalisations of " type " every day :

one percenters

bankers

shills

masons

illuminati

etc etc etc

You remind me of the kid that would walk around the lunchroom in school knocking food trays out of people's hands for #s and giggles. "O'Doyle Rules!"

All people are changable in their approach to forming an opinion, based on how they are feeling at a time. Stick someone who doesn't believe in ghosts in a widely reported haunted, abandoned insane asylum, on their own for a whole night, I'm sure they will freak themself out.

People, in my opinion who are open to conspiracy theories are awake to the fact that even the most trusted snd respected organisations out there, the ones who hold power over us can and do lie, to further an adgenda or keep us in the dark to the truth. I'd say we are more socially aware to a degree and not so easily led.

First off, Van Prooijen and his team have a pretty faulty premise to start, and that is that there is such a thing as control. We are never really in control of anything, and the feeling of being in control is nothing but delusion. This doesn't preclude from pursuing that feeling of control in a myriad of ways, of which becoming a conspiracy theorist or having conspiracy tendencies probably is in the bottom 1%.

After that, it's all downhill. During uncertain and fearful times? What times haven't been uncertain and fearful?

I think that questioning things and seeing possible conspiracies in a world where there is an abundance of conflicting information and where there are inexplicable occurrences is perfectly intelligent, rational, and normal, even though the way some go about it and their overreactions may not be.

From your source:

While there are probably many reasons to believe, a pair of new studies shed light on how they’re helping people gain a sense of control over their lives.

Van Prooijen and his team found that when a person feels like they’re in control, they’re less likely to believe in conspiracy theories.

This leaves me wondering what the parameters for establishing 'control of one's life' are and how the study can prove/disprove that someone is actually in control of their life, if that control is an illusion, or if they're wrong because they don't know any better.

This study seems like there are way too many potential problems with it, and like you said, even the sample size (119 people) isn't big enough to conclude anything about anything.

Also, it seems to imply that when you feel that you are in control of your life, you become apathetic about the world and just accept what you're told. That's no way to live!

a reply to: olaru12

Let's face it, most all of us are conspiracy theorists. It's just that some believe any conspiracy they are told, while others are more rational and selective about which theories they might embrace.

The main contributing factor to the creation of a conspiracy is Lies. We are surrounded by lies from almost the total establishment culture. Politics, media, Law enforcement, education, religion, from top to bottom, a sick pervasive attitude of institutional lying.


They urinate on you, tell you it's raining, then get offended when you don't believe them.


Even when in control of your life, completely emotionally adjusted and happy; If you refuse to acknowledge the deceit, falsehoods and BS fabrications that surrounds you.....your conformism has become a psychosis.

a reply to: Rosinitiate

your reply kind of demonstrates my premise - thanks

you didnt actually adress anything i said - just spat your dummy and attacked me

a reply to: IShotMyLastMuse

I would say either unanswered questions or a lack of trust in the institutions providing the answers.

Look at the numbers on trust people have in our media, government, and related institutions and you tell me why conspiracy theories tend to be popular.