Question

In Maggie Koerth-Baker's, "Why Rational People Buy into Conspiracy Theories" what traits "correlate well with conspiracy belief"? How is belief in conspiracy theories elated to "strong support of democratic principles"? How do the Internet and other media help to "perpetuate paranoia"? Why do rational people buy into conspiracy theories?

Answer 1

Cynicism, low self-worth, uncertainty, powerlessness correlate with conspiracy belief.

Explanation:

The best predictor of belief in a conspiracy theory is belief in other conspiracy theories,” says  a psychology professor who studies conspiracy belief at the University of Westminster in England. Psychologists say that’s because a conspiracy theory isn’t so much a response to a single event.

Many believe in conspiracy theories because the humans have evolved to be suspicious and skeptic. Big events always attract conspiracy. Anxiety makes people to accept the conspiracy. many conspiracies are scary and attract attention. An important trait among conspiracy theorists is paranoia. They believe the threats they face are personally invasive than is reasonable.