A talk with psychology researcher Mikey Biddlestone (Twitter: @biddlepsych), who specializes in studying conspiracy theory beliefs, about some psychological factors that can make beliefs in conspiracy theories more likely. We talk about “just world” beliefs (beliefs that the world is largely just and fair) and how those might relate to conspiracy-minded thinking. Other topics discussed: how narcissistic and antisocial personality traits can relate to such beliefs; how we might define what is an unreasonable level of conspiracy-minded thinking; how conspiracy-minded thinking relates to anti-establishment views; how conspiracy-minded thinking ties into political polarization.
Episode links:
Related resources: