A Conversation about the Conspiratorial Mind
Conspiracies have long been a part of the human psyche, surfacing through our need to make sense of the world we live in. Due to the complexity of our lives now lived, their presence and impact have never been more widely felt, dividing families, friends and communities with impressive success and denying us the experience of what it means to face the difficult challenges of life together.
Whether it is theories about the motives of our leaders, or beliefs formed about where the power to influence world order lies, or even how the trauma of a global pandemic was handled, the strength by which these views are held can be terrifying in their ferocity and potential for societal damage.
So great is the cost to humankind of such intellectual hostility and division that it seemed an important topic for us to explore. The following article seeks to share what we found out about the ‘Conspiratorial Mind’ from our research, the learning allowing us to explore the societal risks faced when conspiracies go unchallenged. We hope this reflection will encourage you to think about the best way to handle this phenomenon.
In trying to make sense of what may be going on in the conspiratorial mind, we came across the work of Shauna M. Bowes, Thomas H. Costello and Arber Tasimi published in a 2023 American Psychological Association bulletin titled ‘Conspiratorial Mind: A Meta-Analytic Review of Motivational and Personological Correlates’. Before you feel overwhelmed by the very academic nature of its title, all this means is that a group of experts have completed a review of 150 studies involving 150,000+ participants around how our personalities and inner drives predict our susceptibility to attach ourselves to the many conspiracy theories out there.
Before we get into the findings, a helpful place to start is with a definition of ‘conspiracy ideation’. In its simplest form, this is the tendency to find and endorse conspiracy theories. Conspiracies, in turn, are defined as theories that have 3 component parts:
1. A group of powerful individuals (the conspirators)
2. who operate in secret to form a plan (the hidden plan)
3. that in its execution benefits the conspirators whilst causing harm to others (acts of malintent)
Most conspiracies are disproven in time, some remain unproven and a few are proven. We, therefore, are not advocating the shutting down of free thinking or intellectual curiosity. Quite the opposite in fact. A healthy level of cynicism about what we are told is what society and its individuals need in order to find truth and forge better paths for ourselves and each other. However, the behaviours that can attach themselves to championing the various conspiracies offered and the energy of division this can breed is where that we suggest there is societal cost that needs addressing. So, if we can better understand the human qualities and experiences that elevate the tendency to attach ourselves to conspiracies, maybe there is an opportunity to consider how those having a conspiratorial mind can find better ways to manage their models of thinking.
Returning to the academic review conducted by Bowes, Costello and Tasimi, this work sought to establish what motivational factors, personality traits and psychopathologies explain an individual’s predisposition to conspiratorial ideation.
Their findings, whilst still forming, are utterly fascinating and worthy of our time and attention.
Understanding the Conspiratorial Mind through the lens of human motivation (drive):
To understand the role of human motivation (or the drive behind our thinking and behaviours) in conspiracy ideation, this review of research highlight a couple of themes:
Epistemic motives
The review explains that the human mind has an innate need to make sense of the everyday world we occupy, in order to form a stable and certain view of what is going on around us (our epistemic motives).
The studies indicate that individuals prone to conspiratorial ideation show a preference for making sense of our world through what is described as intuitive, effortless thinking. What this means is that the effort involved in locating all the available evidence and then applying analytical critical thinking is lower for that person. Their preference is to make instinctive sense of the limited information available. This approach also tends to be favoured by a person when they have been denied certainty and cognitive closure in their life to date (i.e. questions in their life have often been left unanswered). It is understandable that when the world feels less explainable that the human mind seeks to create a version of the world that brings certainty and clarity, even if it comes from pseudo-scientific sources (sources presenting as scientific but without the necessary scientific rigour applied). This set of conditions is where conspiracies can form more readily.
The counter mindset to the conspiratorial one here is one where the holder nurtures an appetite for rational critical thinking and effort-full analysis of the broadest sources of data. Such a person is willing to find the discipline within to apply scientifically robust analysis to the information provided, whilst preserving an open, transformative mindset to all the interpretations available.
Existential motives
The Bowes, Costello and Tasimi report offers that the human mind also has a need to feel safe and in control of its world, particularly when in the face of threat (our existential motives). This not only applies to our sense of physical safety but also the safety of our cherished, tightly held beliefs. Where an individual forms a view that the world is inherently dangerous and there is little they can do to make it safe, then the predisposition to conspiracy ideation is seen as more likely such is the strength of need to feel safe.
The counter mindset to this conspiratorial one is where an individual develops a belief in one’s own ability to shape outcomes even in troubled times, whilst also being able to know who they are (personal authenticity) and how to carve out meaning in their world. This inner drive and source of courage provides the anchor that protects a person from needing to find answers through conspiracies.
Social motives
In addition, the report describes that the human mind can also find comfort in establishing a sense of superiority for oneself and one’s ingroup over others (our social motives). When this need is high, the individual can be drawn to seeking a sense of personal superiority by blaming others for all of life’s ills. This can be compounded when a perception of largescale moral breakdown in society is held. For those that have read our previous paper on organisational narcissism, you will not be surprised to read that the research shows that the tendency for conspiracy ideation has moderate to high correlation with narcissism (the complex blend of overconfidence and vulnerability). Here the social motivation can present itself as the need to stand out and be admired by peers through championing conspiracy theories, whilst holding onto the belief that the holder has secret knowledge about the truth that others fail to see or are not knowledgeable enough to possess. Have you ever experienced the ‘well, you just aren’t clever or informed enough to see it’ response when holding a counterview to a conspiracy shared? For some, these social motives, when activated, also present themselves as a distrust of peers and power allowing the person to valorise themselves through identifying a clear enemy.
Such socially fuelled motives can be seen within an individual or at a collective level. When conspiracies are held at a collective level, we start to see widescale group reactions, sometimes violent in their nature. You only have to go onto social media sites to see this narrative at play.
The counter mindset to this is one that can be formed through nurturing self-esteem (where someone’s sense of self does not rely on a competitive view of being better than someone else and dignity and respect for the different views of others is maintained). At a collective level, this translates to groups taking strength from choosing to believe in and follow their own principles without the need to denigrate opposing beliefs held by others. This feels a very relevant social call to action as current economies and political models jockey for position across the globe.
Understanding the Conspiratorial Mind through the lens of personality traits and psychopathologies:
The Bowes, Costello and Tasimi report also explored the findings around how personality traits and psychopathologies prime an individual to believe in and endorse conspiracies. As well as the narcissistic personality mentioned earlier, other psychopathologies that correlate highly with having a conspiratorial mind are paranoia (the distrust of and perception of malintent in others) and schizotypy (a presentation of extreme/unconventional thinking styles, social awkwardness, disorganised communication, where external events are perceived as non-random). There is also some evidence in the research to date that psychopathologies such as bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder and depression can elevate the tendency to endorse conspiracies although this is less studied.
In terms of personality traits, the research work here is less formed. What is emerging is that intellectual humility is negatively correlated with conspiratorial ideation. Therefore, those with high intellectual humility tend not to show a tendency to endorse conspiracies. Also, high agreeableness and high self-esteem are identified as negative correlates to conspiracy ideation (i.e. if a higher/greater quality in a person, the individual is less likely to endorse conspiracies).
Humility is therefore a core human character quality to develop if we don’t want the pull of conspiracy ideation and all that attaches to this in our lives.
Conclusion
Having explored the Bowes, Costello and Tasimi report, we are keen to reiterate that challenge, curiosity and free-thinking are very much the qualities needed for human achievement, fuelled by a pioneering spirit. We see these qualities as very different to the predisposition to attach readily to conspiracies. What keeps us away from the hostile and dark effect that can be associated with holding a conspiratorial mind is the balancing force of intellectual humility, open-mindedness, critical analytical thinking and respect for differing belief systems.
For those of you curious to find out more about this topic, we would highly recommend a read of the Bowes, Costello and Tasimi review paper to draw your own insights. We welcome your thoughts and challenges.
Editor’s note
In studying this body of research on which drives and personality traits positively correlate with a predisposition to believe in conspiracies and share them with sometimes an aggressive level of conviction, we found ourselves reminded of the thinking/ behaviour/energy framework of one of our favourite coaching modalities: HeartStyles:
Source: Heart Brands UK Limited
HeartStyles teaches us that growth and wellness in work and life can be found when we harness our collective spirit for courageous humility and growth-nurturing love for others (our effective ‘above the line’ ways of thinking and behaving).
From the Bowes, Costello and Tasimi research studied, we learn that cognitive curiosity, determined and effort-full analysis, critical thinking, intellectual humility and personal authenticity are negative correlates for the conspiratorial mind (all which feature within the blue Personal Growth quadrant of the model above).
Agreeableness, open-mindedness to opposing values and beliefs held by others, honouring different views with respect and kindness are likewise negative correlates for the conspiratorial mind (all of which sit within the red Growing Others quadrant on the HeartStyles model above).
Noticeably too, the need to establish superiority over others (a feature of narcissism) falls into the ineffective green behaviour quadrant of Ego-driven Pride – whilst paranoic distrust and the perception of malintent in others feature in the orange Self-limiting Fear behaviour quadrant (our ineffective ‘below the line’ ways of thinking and behaving). These are high positive correlates for those identified as having a conspiratorial mind.
The overlay of thinking described in the Conspiratorial Mind research and those advocated as effective in the HeartStyles coaching model was striking for us and a reminder of the universality and importance of this approach to personal and collective growth.
If you want to understand the effectiveness and energy levels for your organisational leaders and culture using HeartStyles, drop us a note and we would be delighted to explore the opportunity with you.
Author: Kate Noakes - Uplift Consulting