


"That said, studies have also revealed that half of the US population believes in at least one political or medical conspiracy theory. Some research shows that conspiracy theorists want to be unique, and have lower levels of education and analytical thinking skills, he said.Īlthough it's easy to dismiss these groups as radicals, chances are you already know a conspiracy theorist.

In the case of Flat Earthers, where there's ample evidence that the planet is round, this group might be drawn by teleologic thinking, meaning they believe hidden forces, purposes, and motives are behind certain events. So far, they've found that conspiracy theorists seek cognitive closure, meaning they want to find explanations when none are available. Joseph Pierre, M.D., Health Sciences Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA, told Men's Health that psychologists are still trying to determine why people are drawn to conspiracies in the first place.
