Tag Archives: research

The conspiracy theory label: Not as powerful as you might think

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Mike Wood

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 →

Posted in Social psychology | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

Bored to Fears

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Rob Brotherton

Do you get bored easily? Does time fly by for you, or does it always seem to drag? Is it easy for you to concentrate on activities, or do you often find your mind wandering? Is looking at a friend’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Personality | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Why tidying your desk might make conspiracy theories seem less plausible

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Rob Brotherton

A recent study by psychologists at the University of Amsterdam looked at the consequences of feeling ambivalent, with interesting implications for belief in conspiracy theories. We experience ambivalence when we feel both good and bad about something at the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Biases & heuristics | Tagged , , , | 144 Comments