The Persuasive Elements of a Conspiracy Theory

by Simon Boyd

In the United States, conspiracy theories play a large part in exploring ideas which lie on the fringes of opinion. Belief in conspiracy theories is associated with a rejection of science and also correlates with other science-skeptical ideas, including the dismissal of a connection between HIV and AIDS or cigarettes and lung cancer. In 2013, a national poll showed that 21% of Americans believed that the government was hiding evidence of alien existence.

A belief in conspiracy theories also positively correlates with traits such as agreeableness, low self esteem, or powerlessness. In summary, the amount that someone believes in conspiracy theories directly correlates with traits relating to schizotypal or paranoid ideations.

Many prominent conspiracy theories start off with a fundamental attribution error. A fundamental attribution error is the excessive tendency to consider actions or a sequence of actions by others to be intentional and nonrandom. On some level, it is more comfortable to overanalyze about unknown intentions than it is to live with a lack of knowledge about a supposed conspiracy.

Once this human error is exploited with a convincing theory, any evidence which rejects the belief can easily be considered a part of the conspiracy itself. To an extent, this is why people are able to hold onto their paranoid beliefs despite receiving lots of contrary evidence.

With a clear enemy identified in a conspiracy theory, a hostile imagination allows people to frame the enemy with a greater level of malevolence than what might really be the case.

One example of this concept is in the Stanford Prison Experiment which involved knowing participants who either were given the label of prisoner or prison guard.

As shown in the experiment, relations between the two parties quickly deteriorated and the experiment was forcibly stopped for the safety of the participants.

According to Philip Zimbardo who worked on the experiment, the line between evil and good is permeable and the human imagination was designed to allow people to identify an enemy and use their imagination to accentuate negative attributes.

By putting two polar groups together in a hostile system, it doesn’t take long before the two groups conspire against each other despite the clear simulated nature of the study.     

When a higher power is designated as the enemy, the theory is able to take hold and then hostile imagination warps the perceptions of the theorist. This, in combination with the presence of low self esteem or agreeableness for example, allows a conspiracy theory to quickly gain credibility despite containing questionable evidence. Next time you hear of an obscure idea, look for these techniques to determine whether you are dealing with a full-on conspiracy theory.