The psychology of conspiracy theories

By M.Farouk Radwan, MSc.

A True story about conspiracy theories

The story i am going to tell in this article is real but the names and events are slightly twisted so that the goal of the article doesn't become making fun of a person who suffers form a psychological disorder.

Few days ago one of the not so famous celebrities accused one of the large companies in Egypt of sending indirect messages to terrorists through its cartoon ads to direct them to bomb vital places in the country.

The guy who made that bold claim was introduced on the TV and for 30 minutes he kept interpreting every word the cartoon character said in his own way. For any sane person this seemed like a funny comedy show and not a real thing especially when you hear phrases like "the words Chicken-breasts referred to bombs" .

As a psychologist i was curiously watching the guy speaking and it was obvious to me that he really meant every word he said. The guy wasn't lying but he actually saw these symbols in the words and images of a cartoon advertisement and made his big conclusion that this cartoon ad was directed to terrorists and not common people.

Why do some people see what doesn't exist?

I watched the 30 minute interview with the guy who made those claims 5 times. All of his words were pointing to one thing, his amazement of how the creator of that cartoon character became very famous in Egypt in a short period of time.

The first thing that motivated that guy to start searching for clues was the fast popularity of a new rising star, something that he always wanted to achieve but never managed to.

Because that guy always failed to be as popular as those new stars his ego started hurting him so much when he found some of them rising quickly. At this point he formed a new belief to protect his hurt ego which is "You can't become popular fast and if you did then there is something fishy going on"

This belief helped protect the Ego of that guy for sometime but when he saw a new star rising (the creator of that cartoon) he felt jealous and hurt once again.

Because these emotions were going to be unbearable if they were brought to the surface the subconscious mind of that guy had to come up with a new plan to save his ego which is to let him see what doesn't really exist.

The psychology of conspiracy theories

In a previous article i spoke about how the images you see always get edited by your mind before you see them. If you think your nose is big then you won't see its real size when you look in the mirror but you will rather see a bigger nose as a result of your brain's intervention.

The brain of our friend here modified what he saw and made it seem like there are clues in that cartoon advertisement but what was really going on is that his mind was just protecting his Ego because he never managed to be as popular as he wanted. (see also This is why some people see a twisted reality)

People see what they need to see

I personally believe in God but i don't like it when some religious people see symbols related to their religions in the clouds or even on their breakfast toast.

People sometime see what they need to see not what they actually see. Ever seen that person you like only to come closer and find that it was another person?

Your mind will always want to help you feel better but sometimes it goes way far just to help you stay psychologically balanced.

Whether its Alien abduction, Mayan end of the world or even a cartoon character that sends messages to terrorists you should first examine the intentions of your subconscious mind before you believe in your theory.

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Want to know more?

How people twist the facts to support their beliefs

why is it hard for people to change their assumptions

Why do people stick to their incorrect opinions

Why do some people believe in conspiracy theories

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