Understanding Conspiracy Theories

[Michie]

Abstract​

Scholarly efforts to understand conspiracy theories have grown significantly in recent years, and there is now a broad and interdisciplinary literature. In reviewing this body of work, we ask three specific questions. First, what factors are associated with conspiracy beliefs? Our review of the literature shows that conspiracy beliefs result from a range of psychological, political, and social factors. Next, how are conspiracy theories communicated? Here, we explain how conspiracy theories are shared among individuals and spread through traditional and social media platforms. Next, what are the societal risks and rewards associated with conspiracy theories? By focusing on politics and science, we argue that conspiracy theories do more harm than good. We conclude by suggesting several promising avenues for future research.

Conspiracy theories are abundant in social and political discourse, yet a coordinated research agenda to grapple with their causes and consequences has only developed in the last decade. It is imperative that scholars better understand conspiracy theories for many important reasons. Across history they have been closely linked to prejudice, witch hunts, revolutions, and genocide. Many perpetrators of terrorist attacks were known to be keen supporters of conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories have also driven people to reject mainstream medicine to the point where once-cured diseases are now making a comeback in some parts of the world. Also, conspiracy theories drive people to reject scientific consensuses, most notably the consensus around anthropogenic climate change.

In this article, we review studies from psychology, political science, sociology, history, information sciences, and the humanities. We consider conspiracy theories ranging in topics from science, health, the environment, immigration, racism, terrorism, and politics to international relations. The research we review spans a range of methodologies including content analysis of texts, discourse analysis of political tracts and private interviews, analyses of public survey data, psychological experiments, studies of personality variables, trends within individuals over time, archival studies of societal trends, computer simulations, and automated computerized coding. We believe this effort comprises the most comprehensive and interdisciplinary review yet of research on conspiracy theories.

We begin by defining key terms and discussing measurement. We then delineate the psychological, demographic, and political factors that predict belief in conspiracy theories. Next, we address the motives, mediums, and methods of communizing conspiracy theories. Then we assess the effects of conspiracy theories, beginning with their social and political benefits and moving on to their influence on other views and actions. We conclude by highlighting some questions that remain open for future research.

Definitions​

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https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pops.12568