People are able to perceive the world in an organized and predictable manner by creating links between concepts where none exist.
The process of making patterns involves matching information already given or stored in the brain to make connections. 


Syracuse University

Saint Louis University

Predictors of conspiracy theories include the tendency to perceive patterns, uncertainty, and the need to reduce uncertainty.

Predictors of Conspiracy Theories

Albarracín, D. (2020). Conspiracy beliefs: Knowledge, ego-defense, and social integration. In R. Greifeneder, M. Jaffé, E. J. Newman, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), The psychology of fake news: Accepting, sharing, and correcting misinformation (pp. 196–219). London: Routledge. 

Conspiracy beliefs: Knowledge, ego-defense, and social integration

Patterns

Related to imperfect or unknown information; occurs when there is discrepancy between one’s actual understanding and their desired understanding. 
- Conspiracy theories are at the midpoint between verifiability and unverifiability: the verifiable information is plausible, but also unfalsifiable enough to be unverifiable. Therefore, this creates uncertainty. 


Uncertainty

Individuals vary in their need for certainty. Various research has been done to study the measure between conspiracy theories and the need to reduce uncertainty. However, further research must be conducted to  better understand this construct. 
Example: Leman and Cinnirella’s (2013) found that people are more likely to follow their own suspicions about ambiguous information when looking for certainty. Compelling information has less of an impact.


Learn Before

Related