Why people believe in them

New psychological research examines why so many are prone to believe in conspiracy theories — and the reasons are more complex than you might expect.

“Conspiracy theorists are not all likely to be simple-minded, mentally unwell folks — a portrait which is routinely painted in popular culture,” said Shauna Bowes, a clinical psychology doctoral student at Emory University and lead author of the new study.

“Instead, many turn to conspiracy theories to fulfill deprived motivational needs and make sense of distress and impairment.”

Bowes also found that a combination of personality traits — particularly a strong trust in one’s own intuition, combined with “feeling a sense of antagonism and superiority toward others, and perceiving threats in their environment” — are some of the largest indicators that a person is likely to indulge in such theories.

Previously, most studies of conspiracy theorizing had analyzed the roles of motivation and personality separately. Bowes’ research — published by the American Psychological Association — ties the two elements together.

“The researchers found that overall, people were motivated to believe in conspiracy theories by a need to understand and feel safe in their environment and a need to feel like the community they identify with is superior to others,” according to a press release on the study.

“A need for closure” was not one of the strongest motivators for someone to latch onto a conspiracy.

“Instead, the researchers found some evidence that people were more likely to believe specific conspiracy theories when they were motivated by social relationships,” the release added.

“For instance, participants who perceived social threats were more likely to believe in events-based conspiracy theories, such as the theory that the U.S. government planned the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, rather than an abstract theory that, in general, governments plan to harm their citizens to retain power.”

It was also reported that those who deeply believed in the theories tended to show insecurity, paranoia and impulsivity, in addition to being overly emotionally volatile, suspicious, withdrawn, manipulative, egocentric and eccentric.

Bowes stated that the results of the study “largely map onto a recent theoretical framework advancing that social identity motives may give rise to being drawn to the content of a conspiracy theory, whereas people who are motivated by a desire to feel unique are more likely to believe in general conspiracy theories about how the world works.”