How Social Factors Can Contribute Conspiracy Theories? Essay

On September 11, 2001, 19 people hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks against their targets.. Two of the planes crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., including more than 400 police officers and firefighters. (“9/11 attacks”2010). The conspiracy theories started just days after the September 11, 2001 attack. The conspiracies were easy to spread fast when using the internet and they became more and more elaborate as time went on. The most popular 9/11 conspiracy theory is that 9/11 was orchestrated by the American government.

Brian Keeley’s short essay, “Of Conspiracy Theories” discusses conspiracy theories and their value in an epistemological context. Keeley defines a conspiracy theory as “a proposed explanation of some historical event (or events) in terms of the significant causal agency of a relatively small group of persons-the conspirators-acting in secret (Keeley 1999, pg. 116).” Keeley seeks to answer the question of why conspiracy theories are unwarranted. His interest in the warrant of conspiracy theories focuses on ¬the unfalsifiability of conspiracy theories and how conspiracy theories are founded upon an extraordinarily large amount of skepticism. In section III, Keely discusses what a conspiracy theory is, and contends that there is no grounds for

The Internet has played a large role in my interest in conspiracy theories. Although I definitely do not believe all of them, they are fun to look into and are good tools for procrastination. Falling deeper into the hole that is Wikipedia, I spent a large amount of my free time “researching” them. It got to the point where I had to force myself to actually work on homework instead. However, I am not one of those crazy conspiracy theorists; I am only interested in ones that seem legit. All interesting conspiracy theories have similar qualities. A majority of them involve the government or celebrities. And depending on the theory, they are believable.

Maggie Koerth Baker’s piece titled Why rational people buy into conspiracy theories represents the reasons why rational people believe in conspiracy theories. Throughout the article Baker tries to explain the reasons behind the belief of conspiracy theories supported by research and evidence. This paper will review Baker’s article as well as her main arguments, will evaluate the quality of Baker’s writing and focus on any areas of weakness within the article.

The news, even though it may be broadcasting the real facts, may show videos or just talk about the subject so much that viewers are more scared than they need to be. They essentially “overdo” it, and leave Americans and others with different ideas in their minds than they need to have. This idea of sensationalism is a big problem with the situation on 9-11, and is used in it and other conspiracies to convince people of ridiculous notions.

When a person is introduced to a conspiracy theory, it has the potential to severely affect the way they view the world, as well as the way their brain processes information. With numerous theories surfacing in the world, and more than 50 percent of Americans believing in at least one conspiracy; it is hard to determine which are real, and which are fiction. As a result of conspiracy theories people stop trusting each other and become less social. An experiment instructed by Sander van der Linden,a Dutch social psychologist in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, show that the belief in conspiracy theories can cause a person to be less pre-social. In his experiment Dr. Linden separated his participants into three groups, the first group watched a video about conspiracy theories of global warming, the second group watched a video about taking action on global warming, and the third group was a control group which did don't watch any video.   Studies conducted by Willem Prooijen,a social and organizational

The assassination of John F. Kennedy is one of the most controversial and debated topics in American History. JFK was one of the most beloved presidents of our time. One article of his death wrote, "The day the country cried". Unlike previous presidential assassinations, the JFK assassination is one that is filled the conspiracy theories. Such theories include a Government cover-up, Mafia influence and Cuban President Fidel Castro. The idea of a lone mind, Lee Harvey Oswald, plotting to kill President Kennedy is too simple. In the eyes of scholars there is simply no way that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Even with the growing number of bogus theories, there are a number of logical theories that do hold water. In this paper I will discuss

In the world today there are events that happen and have stories untold. On the rise are many different twists that come about from events happening. “63 percent of registered American voters believe in at least one political conspiracy theory according to a recent poll conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University” (“Theories Prosper”). There are many different conspiracy theories in the world today including, included in the top ten lists of conspiracy theories is the Sandy Hook elementary shooting, the Boston Marathon bombings, as well as the September 11th terrorist attacks. Ever wonder how a conspiracy theory comes alive and what is all needed to justify the meaning of a conspiracy theory?

Throughout American history and still today these conspiracy theories always come up about any major tragedies. Some have been true but until someone within our own government comes out and says that these theories are true, they will continue to be all make believe. 9/11 is one of the biggest attacks on American soil and it also has a lot of conspiracies surrounding it. What really hit the towers? Where they commercial jet liners? How does a 747 leave that small of a hole in the Pentagon? These are some of the questions surrounding it. What it all comes down to though is what makes these theories so fascinating to Americans. What makes these so believable and to think that our own government would do this to us is just crazy, or is it?

Ever heard a story so outlandish that you start to wonder if that could possibly ever happen. Well you’ve just been told a conspiracy theory, but do not worry. Many people don’t just wonder about them, they believe in them. There is a great many reason of why this is, there have even been studies done on it. Many scientists concede that people believe in conspiracy theories because they have some uncertainty or fear with in them, and the conspiracy is a way to relieve themselves. They also believe that mistrust has a huge roll in people believing, especially mistrust in huge corporations and big bodies of power such as the government. But fear and mistrust aren’t the only reasons. People also just love a good story, something that is complex and has a lot of action. I mean no one goes to the movie to see a movie about paint drying. They want drama, romance, and lots of action. That’s why people are so compelled into believing conspiracy theories.

In May of 2011 a video by the National Inflation Association (N.I.A) surfaced on YouTube gathering over two million views and opening the eyes of people to the American college system.  According to the producers of this video, "College is the largest scam in US history!" Is college a worth-while investment? Is it just a way for the government to stimulate the economy? Are college degrees really a necessity in performing on the job? All of these questions have been asked and answered with both yes and no. Four writers with different views on this matter have written up articles concerning this issue. While

On a smaller scale, those on the fringe of society like Alex Jones, connect the various conspiracy theories, such the JFK assassination, covert government mind control experiments, and corruption to a greater scheme by wealthy elites. Who he argues, want to cripple governments in order to take over the world, and create a global communist regime, via the U.N and World banks.). A quick search on YouTube provides on abundance of videos claiming to reveal the illuminati’s secret plans. However, most American’s remain skeptical of those assertions. But, on the other hand, many do remain skeptical of official accounts. In fact, most Americans distrust the media and the government, which rises it’s own issues. Because, while criticism of authority is healthy, if the public does not trust any institution then government becomes stagnant, and is unable to solve the major issues currently facing society. Hopefully, at this point, you are wondering, what does this have to do with the JFK assassination? Well, for many scholars, the Kennedy assassination marked the beginning of public alienation and apathy towards the government and politics*. Moreover, his assassination marked a pivot from an era of trust and confidence the intuitions and leaders of government to one of deep distrust and cynicism. However, in depth research on the early Cold war era reveals that conspiracy theories have been a part of American culture since the

The possibility of financial gain from the event by Larry Silverstein and stock holders and the benefits of a psychological attack on the American people by the Bush Administration are what have been understood as the reasons for unrest (Avery: “Loose Change”). Though shocking evidence and explanation has been presented the majority of the American public refuses to believe in the 9/11 conspiracy or even consider it. Whether it be because of lack of interest or because of the inability to find logic in believing 9/11 was an inside job, more attention needs to be put forth at the possibility of conspiracy. By analyzing the psychological studies of commenters on 9/11 conspiracy videos, shocking results can be found that can explain why there isn’t enough interest in conspiracies. Whether it be a lack of interest due to its minimal effect on one’s personal life or a wish to avoid government attention due to a fear of getting involved in something he or she shouldn’t, there is a need to put more attention forth toward the conspiracy theory that is in plain view and easily accessible for research.

To most a fairy tale, to some an interesting topic of discussion, however, to a small population, 5 % to be exact, Government conspiracy does exist. How, you might ask, do I intend to prove that indeed government conspiracy is real? I do not intend to prove it. In fact I only intend to inform you of its ever growing ploy of world domination, capitalism and control and open your mind to the idea that government conspiracy is out there. Throughout history as it is known to repeat itself, I will show facts that support this “theory” and dismiss the legendary lies we have been taught to believe through a system known as memetics.

Lerner, Gonzalez, Small and Fischhoff (2003) undertook an experiment to study the effects of fear and anger on perceived threats of terrorism. The design of the experiment was a national field study. To acquire a nationally representative sample of American’s, the researchers drew a random sample of 1786 people, aged 13-88, from Knowledge Networks nationally representative panel.