RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers

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Rule -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 7:02:37 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: jlf1961 Vincent, some people will buy anything as serious, even when you are being sarcastic. You are wrong - as usual. I suspect that I perceive a pattern here...

Rule -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 7:05:26 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: jlf1961 Melley proposes that conspiracy thinking arises from a combination of two factors, when someone: 1) holds strong individualist values and 2) lacks a sense of control. The first attribute refers to people who care deeply about an individual's right to make their own choices and direct their own lives without interference or obligations to a larger system (like the government). But combine this with a sense of powerlessness in one's own life, and you get what Melley calls agency panic, "intense anxiety about an apparent loss of autonomy" to outside forces or regulators. Sociology is not a science. This is nonsense. I notice that you are prone to quoting other people whom you perceive as authorities. That is a pattern as well.

jlf1961 -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 12:52:10 PM)
Although Melley doesn't present any empirical data to show that conspiracy thinking has been increasing for these reasons, some research by psychologist Jean Twenge is consistent with his hypotheses. Twenge's research examines how Americans' personality traits have been changing over the past several decades. She reviews the results of hundreds of studies published from the 1960s through the end of the century, looking at the personality scores for each year. For example, she finds that trait anxiety (or neuroticism) has been rising dramatically in both children and adults over this period. In another study, she shows that people have come to hold an increasingly stronger external "locus of control"; this refers to the feeling that external forces are determining what happens to you, as opposed to an internal locus of control, the feeling that you dictate your own outcomes. Twenge suggests that the stronger external locus of control reflects our ever-increasing exposure to uncontrollable events and a rise in the "victim mentality" of our culture. (Is this sounding familiar?)

jlf1961 -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 2:26:49 PM)
Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College have found that people in Britain and the United States evidence slowly rising rates of paranoia. Experts say people display a wide spectrum of paranoia, from the irrational fears many people have daily to dangerous delusions, and estimates of the affliction range widely, from 5 to 50 percent. British psychologist Daniel Freeman, author of a new book on the subject, said that in big cities, many ambiguous events can lead to paranoid thoughts because people constantly make snap judgments based on limited information. (MSNBC News; Paranoia: The 21st Century Fear.) quote: LONDON - If you think they're out to get you, you're not alone. Paranoia, once assumed to afflict only schizophrenics, may be a lot more common than previously thought. According to British psychologist Daniel Freeman, nearly one in four Londoners regularly have paranoid thoughts. Freeman is a paranoia expert at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College and the author of a book on the subject. Full story

Rule -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 2:28:43 PM)
No, it does not sound familiar. It is better than the nonsense Melley spouted, though. Interesting. Unfortunately context data are lacking and the cause of the changes Jean Twenge discerns for that reason remains unknown.

jlf1961 -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 3:27:53 PM)
Individualistic values have also been getting stronger in our culture, with greater importance attached to personal freedoms and self-reliance. The U.S. currently ranks highest in individualism compared to all other nations in the world. The rise in anxiety, individualism, and external locus of control may therefore underlie the rise in conspiracy thinking. This is somewhat troubling because these personality trends show no sign of leveling off. In fact, given the current pace of globalization and the "Americanization" of other countries, it seems likely that these personality traits (and conspiracy thinking) will be increasing elsewhere too. But what's the actual appeal of believing in conspiracy theories? What purpose do they serve people? For one thing, conspiracy theories help us cope with distressing events and make sense out of them. Conspiracies assure us that bad things don't just happen randomly. Conspiracies tell us that someone out there is accountable, however unwittingly or secretly or incomprehensibly, so it's possible to stop these people and punish them and in due course let everyone else re-establish control over their own lives. Conspiracies also remind us that we shouldn't blame ourselves for our predicaments; it's not our fault, it's them! In these ways, believing in conspiracies serves many of the same self-protective functions as scapegoating. Paranoia, 9/11, and the roots of conspiracy theories

jlf1961 -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 3:42:26 PM)
Christopher Hitchens represents conspiracy theories as the 'exhaust fumes of democracy', the unavoidable result of a large amount of information circulating among a large number of people. Other social commentators and sociologists argue that conspiracy theories are produced according to variables that may change within a democratic (or other type of) society. Conspiratorial accounts can be emotionally satisfying when they place events in a readily-understandable, moral context. The subscriber to the theory is able to assign moral responsibility for an emotionally troubling event or situation to a clearly-conceived group of individuals. Crucially, that group does not include the believer. The believer may then feel excused of any moral or political responsibility for remedying whatever institutional or societal flaw might be the actual source of the dissonance. Where responsible behavior is prevented by social conditions, or is simply beyond the ability of an individual, the conspiracy theory facilitates the emotional discharge or closure that such emotional challenges (after Erving Goffman) require. Like moral panics, conspiracy theories thus occur more frequently within communities that are experiencing social isolation or political disempowerment. Mark Fenster argues that "just because overarching conspiracy theories are wrong does not mean they are not on to something. Specifically, they ideologically address real structural inequities, and constitute a response to a withering civil society and the concentration of the ownership of the means of production, which together leave the political subject without the ability to be recognized or to signify in the public realm"

Rule -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 4:12:56 PM)
You are still quoting other people.

jlf1961 -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 5:16:06 PM)
The simple truth is there seems to be a psychological profile for those who believe in conspiracy theories. A number of studies have addressed this. It is also a known fact that those suffering from delusions and psychosis rarely listen to facts that are in direct opposition to what they believe, want to believe or perceive.

Jack45 -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 5:47:24 PM)
The US Federal courts convict people on conspiracy every single day. A kid in TN was convicted on Conspiracy and sentenced to 10 years in Federal prison. The US Justice Dept said the kid and another 18 year old were going to wear TOP HATS and tuxedos with the tails, and murder thousands of black people then the Democrat candidate for Pres at the time. A jury bought that. We are supposed to accept whatever conspiracies the govt and the MSM want us to accept. The full force of the powerbrokers comes down on anything that they don't want the people to consider. Conspiracies do happen, does anyone think America's immigration laws just changed by themselves? No there was a conspiracy, powerful people worked for a very long time to change the law. They told people nothing would change, but it did, as they planned. Edward Kennedy told this lie about the 1965 Immigration Act, it should be his epitaph: “First, our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually. Under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same… Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset…. Contrary to the charges in some quarters, [the bill] will not inundate America with immigrants from any one country or area, or the most populated and deprived nations of Africa and Asia…. In the final analysis, the ethnic pattern of immigration under the proposed measure is not expected to change as sharply as the critics seem to think.”

jlf1961 -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 10:35:45 PM)
What this is dealing with is the more bizarre and frequently disproved theories that are prevalent in American or World culture.

Rule -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 11:10:18 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: jlf1961 The simple truth is there seems to be a psychological profile for those who believe in conspiracy theories. A number of studies have addressed this. I have got a profile for you. quote: ORIGINAL: jlf1961 It is also a known fact that those suffering from delusions and psychosis rarely listen to facts that are in direct opposition to what they believe, want to believe or perceive. What has that got to do with conspiracy theorists psychological profiles?

Real0ne -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 11:17:20 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: jlf1961 The simple truth is there seems to be a psychological profile for those who believe in conspiracy theories. A number of studies have addressed this. It is also a known fact that those suffering from delusions and psychosis rarely listen to facts that are in direct opposition to what they believe, want to believe or perceive. I know so many idiots think dubyas conspiracy theory and no amount of proof will ever sway them

Rule -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 11:40:17 PM)
I do not think that jlf1961 suffers from delusions or a psychosis.

thaprincess -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/20/2010 11:47:21 PM)
I don't agree with most conspiracy theories, but when it comes to extraterrestrials I believe that may be possible. Has Earth come into contact with them yet? Probably not. But when you look at how big the universe is and how it's always constantly expanding, the idea that little Earth is the only planet that is inhabited just seems arrogant to me. I mean really, it's like having 20 acres of land and only having one small flower grow in the whole thing. Makes no sense, but that's just me.

jlf1961 -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/21/2010 12:51:04 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: thaprincess I don't agree with most conspiracy theories, but when it comes to extraterrestrials I believe that may be possible. Has Earth come into contact with them yet? Probably not. But when you look at how big the universe is and how it's always constantly expanding, the idea that little Earth is the only planet that is inhabited just seems arrogant to me. I mean really, it's like having 20 acres of land and only having one small flower grow in the whole thing. Makes no sense, but that's just me. Personally, I have not made up my mind about aliens. I mean there are things from the ancient world that we cant duplicate now with our technology, maybe they had help.

thaprincess -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/21/2010 11:19:39 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: jlf1961 quote: ORIGINAL: thaprincess I don't agree with most conspiracy theories, but when it comes to extraterrestrials I believe that may be possible. Has Earth come into contact with them yet? Probably not. But when you look at how big the universe is and how it's always constantly expanding, the idea that little Earth is the only planet that is inhabited just seems arrogant to me. I mean really, it's like having 20 acres of land and only having one small flower grow in the whole thing. Makes no sense, but that's just me. Personally, I have not made up my mind about aliens. I mean there are things from the ancient world that we cant duplicate now with our technology, maybe they had help. That's also something else to think about. I mean we are technically more technologically advanced than ancient civilizations but we haven't been able to duplicate how the Egyptians built pyramids or the Incas figured out how to draw large scale diagrams that could only be seen from air when there were no planes around then. It's like a big chunk of human history is missing.

Avarette -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/21/2010 11:57:32 AM)
So certain were the founding fathers' belief in conspiracies at the core of ambitious men, they argued their suspicions among themselves until they settled on a trilateral form of a Republic (Executive, Aminastrative and Judicial, each subordinate to the Peoples' Constitution), with a bicameral congress (Senate to pass laws without power to appropriate fund, and a House of Representatives to appropriate or veto funds for the Senate or report for the people to rise up with insurrection against the Senate. There has definately been a successful conspiracy to educate children into ignorant subjects who are suspicious of everyone except the ambitious conspirators they are accustomed to. ..and the children think they grew up to thinkt up in their own little brains that they know who should bow down on their knees to whom.

Musicmystery -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/21/2010 11:59:24 AM)
quote: Sociology is not a science. At what point were you granted arbitrary dominion over the sciences?

jlf1961 -> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers (4/21/2010 1:07:42 PM)
Musicmystery, you forget, he is Rule and therefore the final arbiter of all things. At least in his mind.

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