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A blog by four academic psychologists examining the psychology of conspiracy theories ...more info
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Recent Posts
- How to dissuade parents from believing in anti-vaxxer conspiracy theories
- Introducing the Adolescent Conspiracy Beliefs Questionnaire (ACBQ)
- 5G COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and support for violence
- Coronavirus is a breeding ground for conspiracy theories – here’s why that’s a serious problem
- If others are conspiring, then why should I be well-behaved?
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Author Archives: Mike Wood
Internet prophecy cults 101: QAnon and his predecessors
<this post is a 100%, definitely real email I recently sent that I thought I’d share> FROM: mike@conspiracypsych.com TO: operations@soros.org SUBJECT: Re: advice pls Hi George, Thanks for your email. Flattered that you thought of me – of course I … Continue reading
Posted in Biases & heuristics, Confirmation bias, Events, World events
Tagged apocalypse, nesara, predictions and prophecy, qanon, zetatalk
18 Comments
Every mass shooting produces the same conspiracy theories (more or less)
The same conspiracy theories pop up every single time there’s a mass shooting in the United States, with minimal variation. There are a couple of ways to look at this. On the one hand, maybe the conspiracy theories are right, … Continue reading
What suspicion tells us about beliefs in conspiracy theories
Have a look at the statements below, and think about how much you agree with each of them on a 1-5 scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). The real truth about 9/11 is being kept from the public. … Continue reading
The psychology of gang stalking, and the difference between conspiracy theory and delusion
If you’ve spent enough time on the Internet (or read the New York Times yesterday), you might have come across the phenomenon of gang stalking – the alleged stalking of particular individuals by organized groups. It might seem like gang … Continue reading
The great Columbia conspiracy: Why Trump and others seem to contradict themselves on Obama’s past
So, I suppose we should talk about Donald Trump at some point. Trump might just be the most famous conspiracy-monger in the world at the moment. He’s flirted with, if not outright endorsed, a wide variety of conspiracy theories, ranging … Continue reading
Posted in Social psychology, World events
Tagged conspiracy theories, obama, psychology, trump, USA
4 Comments
The conspiracy theory label: Not as powerful as you might think
Calling something a conspiracy theory is basically an intellectual scarlet letter. It’s a way of dismissing something you don’t like, of placing something outside the bounds of reasonable discourse. “That’s just a conspiracy theory” is a depressingly effective way of … Continue reading
5 reasons why “predictive programming” is psychologically implausible
If you think that popular culture – movies, TV, and music – have been kind of samey lately, you’re not alone. Peter Suderman at Slate has proposed that most summer blockbusters follow the same basic formula laid out in a … Continue reading
Posted in Social psychology
Tagged 9/11, alex jones, david icke, mind control, newtown shooting, predictive programming, psychology, sandy hook
155 Comments
The Wood & Douglas (2013) commission report: Whitewash or coverup?
As I write this the fuss about our Frontiers article, “What about Building 7?” A social psychological study of online discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, has mostly died down, so now seems like a good time to do a bit of … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
13 Comments
Setting the record straight on Wood & Douglas, 2013
Our recently published Frontiers study on online communication, “What about Building 7?” A social psychological study of online discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, has been the subject of some chatter on the Internet – but not quite in the way I had … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
230 Comments
What does online discussion tell us about the psychology of conspiracy theories?
This study has recently been linked to as a demonstration that people who believe 9/11 conspiracy theories are “more sane” than people who don’t. The study has no bearing on mental health, and this claim about “sanity” relies on wishful … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
19 Comments
The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories 