Coincidence or conspiracy? Studies investigate conspiracist thinking
Thursday, October 1, 2015 - 20:50
in Psychology & Sociology
In pop culture, conspiracy believers -- like FBI agent Fox Mulder on The X Files or professor Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code -- tend to reject the notion of coincidence or chance; even the most random-seeming events are thought to result from some sort of intention or design. But new research from psychological scientists shows no evidence for a link between conspiracist thinking and perceptions of order, design, or intent.