New Psychology Studies Predict Likeliness of Belief in Conspiracy Theories

1  2018-05-31 by Pelaminoskep

Copied from /r/psychology

I'm not saying no conspiracy theories are true (I simply lack the knowledge). I do think we need to keep in mind our own fallacies in order to be truly able to find some truth.

[See here for the article](https://www1.lehigh.edu/news/new-psychology-studies-predict-likeliness-of-belief-in-conspiracy-theories)

84 comments

You're not serious, are you?

Why wouldn't I be?

Are you not prepared to doubt your own mind? I know I am.

I'm not saying no conspiracy theories are true

...

The whole world is a fuckin' conspiracy, in one form or another.

Why they fuck would I doubt my mind?

Because vast amounts of scientific research in psychology shows we have a big set of biases and standard mistakes we make.

If you are not prepared to question your own mind, you're stuck in a fake self-confidence, bordering on narcissism.

Besides, if everybody does that, nobody can be wrong, right?

Because vast amounts of scientific research in psychology

LMFAO.

Good argumentation there, keep it up ;)

I did some of that research myself. You seem to be showing exactly what the article is about.

This video has 126,004 views. You don't bet Google's youtube with the trash so called science of r/psychology. If you believe this research, you have little understanding of the truth nature of reality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weZdYfc6-Fk

Read my comments below Putin cat man. Why is this guy not interested in my MRSA treatment claim? LOL

Why does this make you laugh your fucking ass off?

You sound like a Scientologist.

You're on a conspiracy sub using normie talking points and insults. LOL

Go back to 4chan. I bet they miss you there.

I will post wherever makes we happy

This is true Putin cat dude.

How is this true?

You should always doubt your mind in some way or fashion and be critical of yourself if you expect to find a true reality.

Never doubt your mind Putin cat man. OP's information is totally propaganda.

Pure propaganda

So when you don't agree they're evil?

You might need one of these people.

This conspiracy study was funded by evil people not the true study of human behavior. These are rigged studies.

How do you know they're 'evil'?

I have invented a new method to treat MRSA superbugs. Get death threats. Evil runs our world.

So every tree is an oak, because you see trees everywhere?

With that kind of logic, you did not find a new method to treat MRSA superbugs. It is more likely you are schizophrenic.

Multiple PhD microbiologists, scientists, foreign diplomats, and african intelligence services officials follow @PatentFreeMRSA on twitter. Only a little over 100 followers. Go check for yourself. The world is governed by evil people.

So not you. Meaning you were lying.

Besides, even if the world 'is ruled by evil people', has nothing to do with being able to question your own mind. A healthy mind will question itself.

I know who funds these scientific studies against so called conspiracy theories. The same people who threaten to kill me. Nice tactic of moving the goal post of the argument. First I am crazy and then its on to something else. LOL

Freud and Bernays would be proud of OP.

Decentralized plebs > centralized talking points.

It is not a study against conspiracy theorists. It should actually advance them.

At this moment, real problems (like for example central banking problems) are very easy to cover up. 'Conspiracy theorists' are all mentally challenged anyway, so who believes those. Some of the responses in this thread are exactly why conspiracy theorists in general are not credible.

Those that are able to be rational and question their own mind, but ask real questions may be actually right about the conspiracies they are trying to expose. But these get snowed under by the vast amounts of people that think everything is a conspiracy and everything up the hierarchy is 'evil'

The article should challenge you to become an actually good conspiracy theorists.

Don't mock what you don't understand. The ancient Greek, Romans, and American indians considered high IQ crazy people special. Causes and the probabilities of its effects > cause and effect science. Spectrums of probabilities not exact answers should be the goal. This its something that Telsa understood. 99% of the people on r/science have never invented something original. Nothing by brain washed zombies.

Removed. Rule 4.

Give me links to your invention and who is giving you death threats? This sounds ridiculous and probably had a lot more to the story that you're not telling us.

The video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWFLs__9Y9Y&t=16s

Blue light kills MRSA in vitro

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19196103

The problem with current blue light MRSA research is they use LEDs. These lights are not powerful enough to penetrate skin. The heat from a 1000 watt high pressure sodium bulb heats up the topical benzthonium chloride/ epsom salt solution.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2721705/

Combination therapies are the future of medicine.

http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v30/n7/fig_tab/nbt.2284_F1.htm

Scientific replication needed

Are you taking about HEV or UV? When you say blue light do you just mean blue colored light or blue on the light spectrum? Do you admit that you only have anecdotal evidence? You say you invented this but they have known UV light kills bacteria for a long time. It also causes cancer. Please expand on this or link something I can read related to your invention and a youtube video. I much prefer to read about science and source it rather than watch someone on a video talk about it.

Then go to the brainwashed bean counters of r/science who have never invented anything new. The UV exposer is less than a tanning bulb.

You didn't respond to anything I said. I asked multiple questions.

You don't respond to my statements or questions either. I can also can play games.

Your maturity level tells me this conversation is over.

You're on a conspiracy sub defending a post who mocks conspiracy theorists. What do you expect? Everyone on the sub to agree with you. LOL

Did you even read the article?

I thought you were done with me. LOL

Are you aware how hot a 1000 Watt bulb placed next to skin would be?

I like this Vitriol guy. I don't know why this is getting down voted. He makes a series of great points and is asking people to rely on credible evidence and try to challenge themselves with arguments or beliefs inconsistent with their own.

The day that the people that should be the most critical thinkers, no longer apply critical thinking to themselves, is a sad day.

The amount of people who are dismissing this study just because it conflicts with their established views is quite frankly worrying. Especially as those people would be the first to shout 'sheeple' and 'normie' if someone disregarded a conspiracy theory in a similar regard.

The amount of people who claim to believe in so called science and then care what a conspiracy sub has to say is frankly worrying.

Psychology isn't science?

You're quite clueless right?

Keep believing in your bean counting science. Donald Trump is President and you still don't understand the real reason.

There's not much too believe. It's very simple. There's a theory, you make a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, write down what you did and have it reviewed by your peers. They can just do what you did and confirm or reject. And if they all die and someone new makes the same theory, they can just test it and come to the same conclusion. The beauty of science is that it is independent of belief.

And although there is of course corruption within science (due to the enormous pressure to publish articles and to get more funding), that doesn't mean everybody is corrupt. I know a lot of scientists. These are generally good people with a mission of finding out how things work. Just as a good conspiracy theorist would.

This isn't how Tesla came up with ideas.

So?

Why do you keep bringing up Tesla like he was some sort of divine avatar of science? First of all, he wasn't even a scientist, but an engineer; he did not create or verify theories of his own, but created applications for existing scientific discoveries. There's not anything wrong with that, of course--he was undoubtedly one of the 20th century's keenest minds--but to claim that scientists shouldn't bother with the scientific method because some eccentric inventor didn't either strikes me as pretty insane.

Second, Tesla came as far as he did in spite of his zany ideas, not because of them. The fellow did not believe that electrons exist, much less that they had anything to do with electricity, and maintained belief in the ether well after it was experimentally disproven in 1887.

What defines it as a science that you seem to be so cavalier to declare it so? Here is an interesting article to read...https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/theory-knowledge/201601/the-is-psychology-science-debate

Tesla was also in love with a pidgeon, so what you are trying to say with that is beyond me. The scientific method may not be perfect, but it's the best tool to gather knowledge we have right now.

I want to be a pigeon.

Totally agree!

A least we agree in something.

Are you sure? ;)

I'm almost certain you don't really read anything at all and just scan for parts you agree with. It's like you have a tunnel vision and only see the parts you want see. It's funny because Gibcake says something that pretty much directly insults you but you agree with him. No good will probably come from me bringing this to your attention but I just really do want you to be aware of it.

Everyone has a reality tunnel. This includes you

Ok? Where are you going with this?

This conversation isn't interesting to me anymore. I am out. Let you gave the last word.

MSM viral infectious disorder, also known as CIA ownyacoctus. Careful, it kills, manipulates, pacifies, debilitates, infiltrates and destroys free thinking.

Yes, I am CIA.

The CIA cares about conspiracy theorists because they are the one group who sees through their machiavelli manipulations. We are sheep like the highly educated bean counters of r/Science and r/Psychology.

You really don't see how you are doing exactly doing what they want, while helping making the entire group of conspiracy theorists about as credible as a toddler by behaving like one?

You question the minds of others but not your own? That's hypocritical at best. And delusional as well.

I am putting out the solution for the MRSA superbug patent-free. Your games, gas lighting, and name calling isn't necessary.

I'm not playing games. I'm also not gas lightning or name calling in my post above. I'm describing your behaviour. You and your behaviour are not the same thing.

I do still think you are lying though.

Look through the followers of that twitter account. Even if you think I am lying about being the inventor that information is valid. Check it out.

Nah. Stay on topic man.

If you have zero curiosity then I don't know what to tell you.

My curiosity is more on how you handle this thread than on argumentation you provide: you don't seem to respond with actual argumentation on anything. You just distract and generalize.

I am just throwing back at you the same games you started

You're just randomly saying things. You've not properly responded on a single thing in this whole thread.

I put out good information with links to peer review articles. If this isn't good enough and you still want to gaslight me and troll me then whatever. Your playbook is quite sad.

It was all offtopic buddy.

This post is stupid for a conspiracy sub. That is why it only has one point.

Your argumentation is that it's stupid?

You're not really the brightest of the bunch are you?

First thing that people should laugh at concerning this study:

Using a large sample of U.S. Citizens (N=394) in the context of the 2016

From the study itself...

Consistent with H4, the 3-way interaction on T1 to T2 change in conspiracy endorsement was marginally significant (b= .71, 95% CI(-.03, 1.45), p=.06). However, the 2-way interaction between political knowledge was marginally significant for Clinton (b= -.52, 95% CI(-1.08, .04), p=.07) but not Trump supporters (b= .02, 95% CI(.02, .56), p=.98). Simple slope analyses on Clinton supporters indicates that post-explanation political belief confidence was associated with a marginally significant increase in conspiratorial beliefs for participants high in political knowledge (b= 0.29, 95% CI(-0.05, 0.63), p=.09) and among individuals low in political knowledge (b= 0.54, 95% CI(-0.05, 0.63), p=.08), although inspection of the unstandardized coefficients suggest this effect was larger among people low (vs. high) in explicit political knowledge. These estimates are summarized in Table 2-4. In sum, we find evidence to suggest that higher post-explanation political belief confidence was associated with increased conspiratorial beliefs, particularly among participants low in explicit political knowledge who voted for the losing candidate in the 2016 presidential election

https://i.imgur.com/wtkaFAe.png

This study has nothing to do with our own fallacies. It consisted of a small sample size looking for correlation between people that think they know a lot about politics, and endorsement of conspiratorial thinking, and they found a significant correlation in the Clinton supporters post election.

Interesting article, thanks for posting here. I have a problem with the article, as well as a conspiracy-theorist perspective. First, I think that it would be worthwhile to see a sample of questions asked by the study. I would like to see what kinds of questions were used to evaluate how people understand "a series of public policies." That is quite a broad encompassing of a complex topic, and the way the questions are written could be misleading indeed.

Second. I take issue with your subtle characterization of conspiracy theorists as insecure, racist males. I have been forced into the conspiracy world as a female who has traveled the world for years. Having your eyes opened to the 9-11 situation is a waking-up that is painful and harsh, but once it's been done, it's done.

Congratulations on your research, but please be more transparent in the future. And know that trying to paint an entire intellectual group in a particular light is unfair and unproductive. Seek, instead, to understand and educate.

I did not participate in this study, so it's not my article. I think the original research paper should be available and able to answer the questions in your first and last paragraph.

> I take issue with your subtle characterization of conspiracy theorists as insecure, racist males.

I'm not sure where you're getting this from. I've posted the article here to make one single point: don't always trust your brain. Our brains do weird things sometimes, whether you're a conspiracy theorist or not.

I didn't realize you had nothing to do with the study. I am referring to Joseph A. Vitriol, a co-author on both studies, who says, "The current political moment is one of volatility and major social change, including increased cultural and ethnic diversity and widespread collective action among members of previously marginalized groups, who are effectively challenging the status quo and seeking change in public policy and political discourse.”

He adds, “For many members of the public, particularly individuals who have benefited from existing social and political arrangements, these developments and changes are quite threatening and can motivate compensatory endorsement of conspiracy beliefs or theories."

This not-so-subtly paints conspiracy theorists as white nationalists, and I disagree with that characterization.

This study seems to me set up in order to discredit those who don't believe the government's lies. The undertone of "don't trust your own mind" is dangerous and, while everyone needs to practice critical thinking, the fact is: all governments lie. We need to trust our own minds more, not less, in my opinion.

I'm not saying no conspiracy theories are true

...

The whole world is a fuckin' conspiracy, in one form or another.

Pure propaganda

So when you don't agree they're evil?

You might need one of these people.

Your maturity level tells me this conversation is over.

The amount of people who claim to believe in so called science and then care what a conspiracy sub has to say is frankly worrying.

Totally agree!

So?

Why do you keep bringing up Tesla like he was some sort of divine avatar of science? First of all, he wasn't even a scientist, but an engineer; he did not create or verify theories of his own, but created applications for existing scientific discoveries. There's not anything wrong with that, of course--he was undoubtedly one of the 20th century's keenest minds--but to claim that scientists shouldn't bother with the scientific method because some eccentric inventor didn't either strikes me as pretty insane.

Second, Tesla came as far as he did in spite of his zany ideas, not because of them. The fellow did not believe that electrons exist, much less that they had anything to do with electricity, and maintained belief in the ether well after it was experimentally disproven in 1887.