Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1490234
14 OPINION FROM vaccine uptake to vi- olent extremism, conspiracy beliefs are linked to distrust in major institutions or powerful figures. Research developed in the last decade shows how con- spiracy beliefs can be linked to people's lack of control in their lives, feeling threatened or even workplace bullying. Conspiracy theories are de- fined by psychologists as "explanations for important events that involve secret plots by powerful and malevolent groups" without any basis in fact. Followers point a finger at groups they think of as pow- erful, from scientists and doc- tors to minority groups such as Jewish people, and blame them for events or societal change. Conspiracies, where powerful figures secretly plot to under- mine something or someone, do exist. The Watergate scan- dal involved a break in at the US Democratic National Com- mittee headquarters by bur- glars connected to President Richard Nixon's reelection campaign. The burglars were caught wiretapping phones. Nixon tried to cover up the crimes but journalists uncovered his role in the conspiracy. But the difference here is that there is evidence to back up what hap- pened. However, conspiracists insist their theories are true even when there is no evidence that holds up to scrutiny. Still, con- spiracy theories can be persua- sive. Millions of people believe in at least one. It's a worldwide phenomenon. Psychology of conspiracy theories Studies in the early 2010s showed how non-pathological factors, such as uncertainty, are linked to why people turn to conspiracy beliefs. In 2017 psychologist Karen Douglas and colleagues argued the wide appeal of conspiracy theories is their promise to satisfy psycho- logical needs. These include desire for certainty, control and meaning, and to maintain a positive image of yourself and the groups you identify with. Feelings of anxiety and threat increase during a crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. People want to make sense of turbulent societies. But conspiracy theories do not satisfy the psychological needs that make us reach for them. A 2021 study found conspiracy beliefs don't lessen anxiety or uncertainty. If anything, there is some evidence people's sense of existential threat and anxie- ty increases when they engage with conspiracy theories. A less well understood factor is collective discrimination, where a group experiences be- ing harmed by another group. But researchers are getting closer to finding out why con- spiracy theories are adopted by a group of people. It can be linked to lack of trust in in- stitutions or society. Work in 2002 showed discrimination experienced by African Amer- icans was associated with their heightened beliefs that HIV is made by humans deliberately. This idea still circulates today. Research in 2020 found dis- crimination experienced by gay men in the UK was connect- ed to their conspiracy beliefs Bullying, power and control: in conspiracy theories and how Daniel Jolley & Anthony Lantian maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 18 JANUARY 2023