Tag Archives: consequences

Conspiracy distractions

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Rob Brotherton

[I wrote this article two years ago, on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It was originally published in The Skeptic magazine.] On the morning of September 11th, 2011, New York City solemnly remembered the thousands of people who … Continue reading →

Posted in 9/11, World events | Tagged , , , , | 229 Comments

Robert F Kennedy Jr and vaccines : How even the brightest can fall victim to conspiracy thinking

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Christopher Thresher-Andrews

Robert F Kennedy Jr, famously one of  Robert “Bobby” Kennedy, Sr ‘s 11 children, has made press many times over the last ten years with his staunch anti-vaccination views. In 2005, he wrote an article for Salon.com proclaiming that a government conspiracy … Continue reading →

Posted in Biases & heuristics, Confirmation bias, What's the harm | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“The Great Green Con”: Pro-conspiracy information within the media

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Daniel Jolley

This morning I came across a news article that read so similar to my pro-conspiracy manipulation used within a recent paper, it was quite unnerving. I have spoken about this paper before on this blog, where it was shown that exposure … Continue reading →

Posted in Social psychology, What's the harm | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Conspiracy beliefs and TV licences: ‘Turning off’ engagement

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Daniel Jolley

As blogged about previously, conspiracy theories are influential and exposure to such theories can influence both beliefs and behavioural intentions in a variety of domains. However, a recent news story caught my attention, as it clearly demonstrated a sense of detachment with … Continue reading →

Posted in 9/11, Social psychology, What's the harm | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Climate change conspiracy theories

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Rob Brotherton

In 2010, politicians from the Utah House of Representatives urged the United States Environmental Protection Agency to immediately suspend policies aiming to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Why? Global climate change, the politicians argued, is a fraud. According to the Utah … Continue reading →

Posted in Personality, What's the harm | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

The influence of conspiracy information: Beliefs & Intentions

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Daniel Jolley

Conspiracy theories are influential. Empirical work, both of my own and other scholars have indeed shown that this is the case. Whilst watching “Did we land on the moon” on channel 5 last night, I therefore wondered what influence this … Continue reading →

Posted in Events, Social psychology | Tagged , , , , , , | 21 Comments

HIV/AIDS conspiracies and their consequences

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Daniel Jolley

As we all know, conspiracy theories are a popular topic. Ask anyone, I’m sure they will have some sort of opinion (pro-conspiracy, or anti) on the topic. And, this is exactly the reason why conspiracies need to be studied, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, What's the harm | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Dan’s consequences welcome

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Daniel Jolley

As this is my first blog post on here, I thought I best start by introducing myself properly. I’m Dan, based at the University of Kent, going into the second-year of my PhD. My research is based around the psychology … Continue reading →

Posted in Social psychology | Tagged , , | 1 Comment