why do people believe in conspiracy theories?

Why would some people believe that the US air-force is hiding information about their contact with the allies?
Why do some people still believe that Michael Jackson is alive?

Its so normal for any human being to wonder why certain things happen. After all, the human mind always likes to fill the gaps and to jump to conclusions even if no evidence was found but what studies have found is that the people who believe in a certain conspiracy theory are the ones who usually believe in all other ones as well.

In other words, believing in one conspiracy theory is not a problem but when you start giving weird meanings to each event that happens around you then this means that something else is going on in your mind.

the psychology of conspiracy theories

People believe in conspiracy theories for different reasons. Some people might only have one of these reasons in mind while others might have more than one. Below are some of the most common reasons that force people to believe in conspiracy theories:

1) Coping with distressing events: When something terrible happens people feel that they are helpless and not in control. After all its not easy to admit that we humans are much more vulnerable than we believe we are. Because of that psychological pressure some people try to make sense of such events in order to feel in control. After all if someone is accountable for what happened then he can be punished or at least hated and this makes people feel more in control
2) The victim mentality: Some people are brave enough to take charge of their lives while others prefer to blame external factors. Those who believe that they are victims are the ones who are most likley to believe in conspiracy theories. The person with the victim mentality never admits that he makes mistakes or that he is in control but instead he tries to find a third party to blame so that he feels good about himself. In the Solid Self confidence program i said that people feel better about themselves when they assume that their misfortunes are caused by others and that they are not the ones to blame
3) They want to protect their own beliefs: As strange as this sounds its still one of the most popular reasons people believe in conspiracy theories. I have said many times before that people are anything but rational when it comes to protecting their beliefs. If a person believes that his goverment is corrupted then he will create many conspiracy theories just to prove his belief true even if he lacked the needed facts. (see also How people twist the facts to support their own beliefs)
4) Not to feel powerless: People feel powerless when they admit that there are lots of things that they don't understand. When those people start creating theories even if they are far from the truth they feel more confident about themselves. After all its rewarding to become one of those who are enlightened or one of the few who truly understand what's going on. The desire for superiority is another force that motivates some people to believe in things that others don't believe in. A person in such a case believes that he is superior to others because he knows what they don't know

What can this teach you about the human mind?

Lots of people don't think rationally.
The human mind twists facts just to support its beliefs.
People create lies then believe in them. (see Self deception)
People might believe in things even if they go against logic.
People want to feel good about themselves even if the cost was hiding the truth or making up stories.

So what does this has to do with you?

Those same people are the ones who make you feel bad when they reject you.
Those same people are the ones who put you down when you tell them about your plans.
Those same people are the ones who make you believe you are worthless when they don't believe in you.

Got the point?

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